“My mom saw It had a clown in it and assumed it was a kids film, so she put it on for me and my sister to watch when we were 9 and 10.”

Doja Cat has a daring new look. The

Predator 2 | Film Threat

I haven’t seen Predator 2 in decades, and I’m amazed how much it’s grown on me over the years. What stood out to me the most is all the risks director Stephen Hopkins was willing and able to make to set this sequel apart from the original. After briefly mentioning the events of the first Predator, our story moves to the gang-infested streets of Los Angeles, which has become a violent warzone for drug activity. Prophetic, huh?

The LAPD is outgunned by the massive stockpile of firepower and automatic weapons possessed by rival drug gangs, the Jamaicans and Colombians. Observing the action overhead is the Predator (Kevin Peter Hall), who later that day takes out the Colombian drug lord and his henchmen at their penthouse stronghold. It should be noted that the alien hunter took out the gang in a very violent and gruesome manner.

Investigating the murders are Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) and detectives Leona Cantrell (Maria Conchita Alonso) and Danny Archuleta (Rubén Blades). Joining them is trouble-making new transfer Detective Jerry Lambert (Bill Paxton). Standing in the way of Harrigan’s probe is FBI agent Peter Keyes (Gary Busey), who uses his federal authority to take over the investigation, which does nothing to stop Harrigan from going out on his own. He discovers that the victims were skinned alive, and it’s soon revealed Keyes has known all this time that the threat is extraterrestrial in nature. Of course, the government wants to make good use of the newly discovered alien weaponry versus protecting the lives of drug cartels.

Like the first Predator, Predator 2 is a contest of champions between Glover’s Harrigan and the Predator. Granted, Glover is no Schwarzenegger, but he puts his full “too old for this s**t” attitude into play. What stuck out to me the most was the setting — moving from the jungles of Central America to the concrete jungles of Los Angeles. Not only is the scale bigger, but so is the body count.

“…the government wants to make good use of the newly discovered alien weaponry…”

The tone is probably the film’s weakness. Rather than the quiet movement through the primeval forest, the sequel turns into a fast-paced action movie. The opening gun battle is loud and relentless… and the Predator hasn’t even gotten involved at this point. The acting from everyone, but Glover, is over-the-top but par for the course for that era of action film. There’s a definite Albert Pyun feel to the actors reciting their comic book dialogue.

There are so many stars and soon-to-be stars in Predator 2. It’s like The Love Boat, but instead of a luxury cruise, it’s a horrific blood bath. We’ve already mentioned Danny Glover, Maria Conchita Alonso, Rubén Blades, Bill Paxton, and Gary Busey. Now add emerging superstars Adam Baldwin and Robert Davi and cameos from Kent McCord and Morton Downey, Jr. Most of these guys don’t make it out so well. The best part of the film is Glover. He’s channeling Roger Murtaugh while chasing an alien in the measured Danny Glover-style by thinking before acting.

As a sequel, I like the new setting and the high body count. Hopkins manages to stay true to the original while expanding its mythos. The ending offers an explanation for the creature’s motivations for the remainder of the franchise’s run. On the downside, the special effects leave a lot to be desired, especially at the end when the Predator(s) are standing in fog (which was added in post). But, what ultimately keeps this from being better than the original is its tone. It moves more toward Robocop than a truly scary alien thriller.

Predator 2 is one of the films that aged better over time. It made bold choices to be a memorable sequel, and most of those chances are exciting. While it has some definite hits and misses, it finds its rightful place in the franchise.

I haven’t seen Predator 2 in decades, and I’m

A desperate Vladimir Putin is considering turning to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un for help in his invasion of Ukraine, and is willing to offer energy and grain in return for 100,000 soldiers, according to reports in Russia. Pictured: Kim inspects his troops in April, 2022

Desperate Putin ‘is considering turning to Kim Jong Un for help in Ukraine’

A desperate Vladimir Putin is considering turning to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un for help in his invasion of Ukraine, and is willing to offer energy and grain in return for 100,000 soldiers, according to reports in Russia.

North Korea has made it clear through ‘diplomatic channels’ that as well as providing builders to repair war damage, it is ready to supply a vast fighting force in an attempt to tip the balance in Moscow’s favour, reported Regnum news agency.

They would be deployed to the forces of the separatist pro-Putin Donetsk People’s Republic [DPR] and Luhansk People’s Republic [LPR], both of which Kim has recently recognised as independent countries.

‘The country is ready to transfer up to 100,000 of its soldiers to Donbas,’ said the report by the pro-Kremlin news agency. ‘Pyongyang will be able to transfer its tactical units to Donbas.’

In return, grain and energy would be supplied to Kim’s stricken economy.

A leading defence expert in Moscow, reserve colonel Igor Korotchenko, told Russian state TV: ‘We shouldn’t be shy in accepting the hand extended to us by Kim Jong-un.’

Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of Russia’s National Defence journal on Rossiya 1 channel, said: ‘There are reports that 100,000 North Korean volunteers are prepared to come and take part in the conflict.’

He was challenged by other presenters of the propaganda channel on whether they could be volunteers from North Korea where total obedience is required.

But he said North Korean people were ‘resilient and undemanding’ and ‘the most important thing is they are motivated’. He told viewers: ‘We shouldn’t be shy in accepting the hand extended to us by Kim Jung-un…

North Korea has made it clear through ‘diplomatic channels’ that as well as providing builders to repair war damage, it is ready to supply a vast fighting force, reported Regnum news agency. Pictured: Kim Jong Un presiding over an event marking the 69th anniversary of the Korean War in Pyongyang, North Korea, July 27

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un (left) attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) in Vladivostok, Russia, on April, 25, 2019

A leading defence expert in Moscow, reserve colonel Igor Korotchenko (left), told Russian state TV: ‘We shouldn’t be shy in accepting the hand extended to us by Kim Jong-un’

‘If North Korean volunteers with their artillery systems, wealth of experience with counter battery warfare and large calibre multiple launch rocket systems, made in North Korea, want to participate in the conflict, well let’s give the green light to their volunteer impulse.’

He said: ‘If North Korea expresses a desire to meet its international duty to fight against Ukrainian fascism, we should let them.’ It was the ‘sovereign right of the DPR and LPR to sign the relevant agreements,’ he said.

Russia has repeatedly claimed Ukraine is a ‘fascist’ country as one of its many ways to attempt to justify Putin’s brutal invasion, that has killed thousands of civilians and caused millions of people to flee their homes.

Meanwhile Russia should end its participation in international sanctions against Kim’s regime, Korotchenko claimed.

Ties between Russia and North Korea dates back to 1948, when the Soviet Union became the first country to officially recognise the DPRK. During the Korean war, the Korean People’s Army was supported by the USSR.

Relations between the two countries continued even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with Vladimir Putin giving it more importance when he was elected president in 2000. Kim Jong Un accepted an invitation to visit Russia in 2015, and the pair met on Russian soul – in Vladivostok – on 2019.

When Putin launched his invasion in Ukraine on February 24, North Korea was one of five countries to vote against a United Nations resolution condemning the invasion.

North Korea also became the third country to recognise the independence of the breakaway states of Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in Eastern Ukraine – territory seized by Russian forces during the invasion.

Ukraine reacted by severing all diplomatic ties with North Korea.

The recent addition of to Ukraine’s arsenal of U.S.-made HIMARS missile systems (pictured) has begin to move the dial in Kyiv’s favour in some regions, allowing Ukraine’s forces to neutralise Russia’s use of artillery strikes. Pictured: Ukrainian MSLR BM-21 ‘Grad’ shoots toward Russian positions at the frontline in Kharkiv region, August 2

Pictured: Residents carry their belongings near buildings destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict, in the southern port city of Mariupol

The claim over North Koreans comes as Russia is desperately seeking to boost its frontline forces by recruiting prisoners in exchange for waiving their jail sentences.

A Dad’s Army of men in their 50s and 60s is also being recruited with the offer of pay higher than many receive in Putin’s moribund economy.

It comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its sixth month, after Moscow brazenly expected to seize Kyiv in a matter of days. Instead, Putin’s forces have found themselves fighting a protracted conflict against a fierce Ukrainian defence, with predictions putting Russian fatalities in the tens-of-thousands.

The recent addition of to Ukraine’s arsenal of U.S.-made HIMARS missile systems has even begin to move the dial in Kyiv’s favour in some regions.

Ukraine officials have said they operate up to a dozen HIMARS systems, whose accuracy and long range have allowed Kyiv to reduce Russia’s artillery advantage.

Korotchenko is known for his fierce pro-Putin rhetoric.

Recently he urged Putin to bomb Kyiv with a Kalibr cruise missile inscribed ‘Hasta la vista baby!’ during any Boris Johnson farewell visit – not to ‘murder’ the UK prime minister but in a show of strength.

Russians should feel ‘no shame’ of its ambition of obliterating Ukraine as an independent state, he also said recently.

Such an objective was ‘absolutely healthy’, he said.

‘It was said here that Russia is trying to wipe Ukraine off the geopolitical map of the world,’ he said. ‘It isn’t quite that. We are wiping an anti-Russia project off the geopolitical map of the world…’

Ukraine had ‘never existed’ as a truly independent state in the past, he falsely claimed. ‘It is an artificial ‘formation’ which was born thanks to the national policy conducted after 1917 by the Bolsheviks,’ he said.

But now it had become ‘a springboard for a strike against Russia’.

Its political elite ‘have no right to exist from the point of national interests of our country’.

The West ‘will not be able to influence the decisiveness of the leadership of our country and our people to make it so that such a threat from the territory now called Ukraine never exists.’

A desperate Vladimir Putin is considering turning

Teresa Giudice Marries Louie Ruelas

Teresa Giudice Marries Louie Ruelas | Entertainment Tonight

‘Batgirl’ Flap Signals the End of Streaming Evangelism in Hollywood

Five years almost to the day after it began, Hollywood’s evangelistic fervor for streaming has been extinguished this week by the “Batgirl” imbroglio.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to scrap the completed DC Comics film that was bound for HBO Max marks the boldest example of Old Media economic rigor being applied to contemporary content spending.

David Zaslav, CEO of the newly reconfigured media conglomerate, didn’t even mask his bewilderment at the decision-making process and optimistic profit projections made by the previous WarnerMedia regime. Zaslav and other executives spoke Aug. 4 during WB Discovery’s second-quarter earnings conference call with Wall Street analysts that ran 95 minutes as executives spoke with candor about the new world order.

Zaslav and WB Discovery chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels said more than once, with palpable exasperation, that there was simply no business case to be made for spending $90 million on a DC Comics movie designed to skip theaters and go straight to HBO Max.

“We’ve looked hard at the direct-to-streaming business,” Zaslav said. “And our conclusion is that expensive direct-to-streaming movies in terms of how people are consuming them on the platform, how often people go there or buy it or buy a service for it and how it gets nourished over time is no comparison to what happens when you launch a film in the theaters. And so this idea of expensive films going direct-to-streaming, we cannot find an economic case for it. We can’t find an economic value for it.”

The emphasis on how “Batgirl” could – or could not – possibly recoup its costs was the equivalent of a bucket of ice water being thrown on the media and entertainment sector. Zaslav has already vowed that he’s not trying to “win the spending wars” as he made the pre- and post-merger rounds around the AT&T spinoff transaction with Discovery.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav
Art Streiber for Variety

But the granular financial detail and significant strategy shifts outlined by Zaslav and Wiedenfels brought the curtain down on a period of irrational exuberance in Hollywood that began on Aug. 8, 2017 – the day former Disney CEO Robert Iger surprised many of those same Wall Street analysts by announcing plans to launch the streaming platforms that became Disney+ and ESPN+.

“I would characterize this as an extremely important, very, very significant strategic shift for us,” Iger said at the time.

That was the cap gun going off. From that day on, Disney outmaneuvered Comcast buy 20th Century Fox, AT&T went after what was then Time Warner and Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone redoubled her efforts to reunite Viacom and CBS under one roof in a deal completed in December 2019.

Disney’s strategy pivot toward a direct-to-consumer business model for most of its content – following the path blazed by Netflix as a platform with global reach – also crystallized the industry focus on content spending as measured in double-digit billions. Netflix drew talent like moths to a flame with its regular reveals of eye-popping content spending numbers. The traditional TV industry was already feeling the strain of Peak TV production levels, but Disney’s big move in 2017 set most of its Hollywood peers on a mission to further grow the volume of content production.

Five years later, there’s more content available than ever before but the path to seeing a return on movies and TV shows that are less than “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Stranger Things”-level smash hits is murkier than ever. It’s no secret that executives at Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and others are looking at the worst-performing shows in their vast streaming libraries. There’s growing realization that there’s a financial imperative to consider some form of syndication licensing for little-watched shows in the hopes of seeing some kind of return by selling it to an outside buyer.

Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish has been a proponent of taking a diversified approach to streaming. He has championed the company’s investment in free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels on its wholly owned Pluto TV platform, which is built on a revenue-share model with outside content providers, mixed with the premium subscription content offered by Paramount+ and the standalone Showtime streaming app.

Lazy loaded image — Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish
Celeste Sloman/Variety

“We believe our streaming business can get to TV Media-like margins (of 20%-25%) over time,” Bakish told Variety. “We’ve only been in streaming for a short time. It’s going to take a little while and that’s why we say our model has some real advantages.”

Heretofore, the major TV networks have never had to grapple with juggling so much movie and TV inventory – all of which comes with some level of residual fees due to creative partners. That’s another cold, hard financial reason why it made more sense for WB Discovery to ground “Batgirl” and take a big tax write-off on the movie rather than spend more money on a property that Zaslav made clear was not up to snuff for the valuable “Batman” franchise.

Wiendenfels acknowledged that WB Discovery’s thinking on content spending for its soon-to-merge streaming platforms – HBO Max and Discovery Plus – has changed over the 16 months since Discovery and AT&T first reached a deal on the spinoff transaction that created WB Discovery. Those changes were also surely accelerated by the volatility in equities markets and the plunge in WB Discovery stock price over the past few months. On Friday, the market cap of the company that is home to two of Hollywood’s glossiest brands — HBO and Warner Bros. — fell to $35.4 billion as the stock price sank 16% following the after-market earnings report.

Direct to consumer streaming is “one platform in a larger portfolio of assets and in a larger lineup of distribution outlets. We are not going to be religious about driving hard to fuel just one platform,” Wiedenfels said on the call. “DTC has its space and Warner Bros. Discovery is uniquely positioned with the enormous surface area with our customers to service them and to tell great stories for decades to come.”

Zaslav went further, saying that WB Discovery will return to pursuing international sales of content in select cases. Under the previous WarnerMedia regime led by Jason Kilar, the studio made the hard choice to forgo that third-party revenue in favor of stocking up titles that could only be found on HBO Max.

“Anything that’s important to us to growing HBO and HBO Max … we are going to keep that exclusively,” Zaslav said. “What kind of content could be non-exclusive and have no impact on us (that’s what) we want to monetize to drive economic value. And then there’s content that we are not even using right now — massive amounts of TV and motion picture content that we are not using.”

The steepness of the climb that Team Zaslav has ahead was underscored by a question from Morgan Stanley media analyst Ben Swinburne, who gently reminded the new owners that HBO not long ago was delivering about $2.5 billion in earnings (before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) a year as a linear cable offering.

But therein also lies the dilemma for Big Media. There’s no going back to the linear era of fat profit margins from traditional cable. The explosion of free and lower-cost options has led to a steady shrinkage of high-paying subscribers to linear MVPD providers like Comcast, Charter and DirecTV. The customer exodus is running about 4%-5% a year in the U.S. It’s carefully tallied every quarter because of pay-TV’s importance to Hollywood earnings.

WB Discovery is mulling a FAST channel iteration of HBO Max and Discovery+ to serve as a kind of barker service to lure paying subscribers. The exploding popularity of FAST channels has industry veterans clucking that consumers now have the means to recreate the traditional cable bundle but on economic terms that are far worse for content providers.

All of this volatility, coupled with the gathering macroeconomic headwinds, explain why media stocks have been pummeled so far this year. Once Netflix’s aura of invincibility came down with its Q1 surprise of subscriber losses ahead, the gospel of spend-at-all-cost to build platforms and gain market share has lost some of its hold on CEOs and CFOs.

The health of the subscription streaming market will get an important temperature check next week when Disney reports its fiscal Q3 earnings on Aug. 10.

Paramount’s Bakish has been gratified to see that the strategy he set off on in 2019 of assembling a mixed portfolio of FAST and pay channels is being embraced by Paramount’s larger rivals. With the road ahead more unclear than ever, Bakish said it’s the kind of business environment that creates its own opportunities, for companies that aren’t paralyzed by fear and second-guessing.

“You make your own decisions about what to do and then get on about doing it,” Bakish said.

Five years almost to the day after

Colin Farrell & Brendan Gleeson Reunite – Deadline

Searchlight Pictures has dropped the official trailer for The Banshees Of Inisherin, the Irish Civil War drama, written and directed by Martin McDonagh.

The film marks a reunion for In Bruges stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, and is Oscar winner McDonagh’s first feature set in his native Ireland. Set in 1923 on the fictional island of Inisherin, the film follows lifelong friends Pádraic (Farrell) and Colm (Gleeson), who find themselves at an impasse when Colm unexpectedly puts an end to their friendship. A stunned Pádraic, aided by his sister Siobhán (Kerry Condon) and troubled young islander Dominic (Barry Keoghan), endeavours to repair the relationship, refusing to take no for an answer. But Pádraic’s repeated efforts only strengthen his former friend’s resolve and when Colm delivers a desperate ultimatum, events swiftly escalate, with shocking consequences.

The film from Searchlight Pictures and Film 4, in association with TSG Entertainment, produced by Blueprint Pictures, hits theaters on October 21.

Watch the trailer above.

Searchlight Pictures has dropped the official trailer

takeaways for the unscripted business

The intrigue surrounding the mysterious merger plans for Warner Bros. Discovery’s major streaming services, HBO Max and Discovery+, has certainly made the dog days of summer more lively for industry pundits, trade publications like ours, and the entertainment business at large.

After WBD confirmed its plans to combine the services in April, speculation about how that would happen reached fever pitch in the weeks leading up to Thursday’s (August 4) Q2 earnings report and accompanying investors call. Some rumors prophesied the quick and nasty gutting of HBO Max’s team, with the microscope particularly trained on the streamer’s unscripted department, given that unscripted is Discovery+’s focus. For a while, it was the most buzzed-about topic in the trades.

And then Batgirl happened.

The decision to shelve a nearly completed movie that had already racked up a $90 million bill — a movie catering to an extremely loyal and vocal fanbase, no less — managed to take the industry’s eyes off of the HBO Max/Discovery+ merger ball for a few moments. But even in the days leading up to yesterday’s news, according to most of the quoted (albeit unnamed) sources, the prognosis was very grim for HBO Max.

As we see now, the truth is a little different. While there is much that is still murky, the elements of strategy that were laid out during the earnings call with WBD topper David Zaslav and streaming chief J.B. Perrette provided some clarity as to the timeline for the launch of the combined streamer, as well as other aspects of the game plan. While much remains unanswered, with more details promised for the investors call at the end of the year, here are some of the key takeaways from yesterday’s events that are of particular relevance to the unscripted content business.

The death of HBO Max was greatly exaggerated…

Judging by some of the press speculation leading up to the Q2 report, one would be forgiven for thinking that the plug was this close to being pulled on HBO Max, à la CNN+. But news that broke earlier yesterday regarding plans to move content from Magnolia Network — the JV between lifestyle moguls Chip and Joanna Gaines and Discovery that is now under the oversight of HBO/HBO Max content chief Casey Bloys — to HBO Max via a dedicated “spotlight page” over the next few months illustrated that such a drastic move wasn’t in the cards. The Magnolia content will still appear on Discovery+, and the latest iteration of the Fixer Upper franchise will debut across both platforms, but bringing the Gaines train to HBO Max perhaps points to more gradual efforts towards amalgamation of WBD’s streaming brands.

Still, the fact remains that what subscribers currently regard as HBO Max and Discovery+ will be a different animal once the combined service emerges. During the investors call, Perrette laid out the timeline for the as-yet-unnamed service’s launch, with the focus being on markets where HBO Max has already launched — which leaves territories such as the UK, Germany and Italy out of the picture until 2025. An American launch is slated for summer 2023, with LatAm to follow and European territories as well as Asia Pacific markets set for 2024.

“There’s much work to be done over the coming months, from retooling the tech platform to enabling proper content and metadata ingest around the world and ensuring a seamless customer migration for launch,” said Perrette. “There is lots to do, and we are determined to get it right, which will take a bit of time.”

…but what will the new service look like, and who will be there?

Perrette (pictured above) also added that WBD expects “peak EBITDA losses for the DTC segment will occur this year in 2022 as we do the heavy lifting around technology, personnel and integration ahead of the planned re-launch starting next summer.”

This is where some of the murkiness most relevant to the production community remains, particularly in the personnel area. When discussing WBD’s “unmatched depth and breadth of content, [which] provides us the opportunity to offer something for everyone,” Perrette highlighted the “unique and complementary” elements of both streamers, with a clear delineation between HBO Max’s scripted offerings and Discovery+’s focus on “real-life entertainment.” When it came to highlighting the “leading unscripted programming” on offer from WBD, it was Discovery+ content — 90 Day Fiancé and Fixer Upper — that got the shout-outs from the top brass.

Given this, could the content-sharing strategy seen in the Magnolia Network/HBO Max news revealed on Thursday — as well as the parallel shuttling of select CNN Originals over to Discovery+ that was also announced yesterday — be extended such that HBO Max unscripted originals and docs make their way to Discovery+ in the months ahead, in order to familiarize Discovery+ viewers with HBO Max’s eclectic non-fiction offerings? And, amid reports of “pauses” in buying and uncertainty in development affecting both streamers, when will the foot come off the brake, and who will be driving the development and buying efforts?

“The majority of the people on Casey [Bloys]‘s team have been locked up,” Zaslav said, in relation to what he called “the incredible success” that HBO and HBO Max are currently having. “Casey is here for the next five years, and we hope longer.”

Linear still matters

While the bulk of attention has been directed to WBD’s streaming and theatrical models, there has also been plenty of movement on the linear front for the company, with significant executive departures from WBD’s network portfolio prompting similar questions about what unscripted will look like across the WBD cable roster. During the earnings call, Zaslav maintained that getting the content balance right across the linear nets is as much of a priority as ever.

“We think it’s very hard to predict, but we expect it’s going to be a very significant cash generator for us and a very good business for us for many, many years to come,” Zaslav said of WBD’s linear offering, adding that, given the size and breadth of the libraries under the WBD umbrella, the content-sharing strategy will be explored for cable and premium pay TV as well.

“We haven’t begun to implement the libraries that we have now, where we could take content [like] old documentaries on crime from HBO and put them on ID, or take programming that exists in the library and move them on each of the cable channels or vice versa,” stated Zaslav.

Urfi Javed Admitted to Hospital in Mumbai, Shockingly Reveals ‘I Kept Ignoring My Health’

In a shocking turn of events, social media influencer and TV actress Urfi Javed was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai on Saturday. The actress informed her fans about the same via her Instagram story. Urfi shared a photo of herself from the hospital bed.

Sharing the photo, Urfi wrote: “Got too much time while I’m here. Yes, this happened. I kept ignoring my health and now.” The actress didn’t reveal the exact cause of her hospitalisation though.

Urfi Javed has grabbed attention of the audience with her sartorial choices. The actress, who had also participated in Bigg Boss OTT, has made heads turn with her unique sense of fashion. She recently got in a war of words with actress Chahatt Khanna, who called out the media for making Urfi a ‘celebrity’ despite her putting up a ‘cheap show’.

In a note shared by Urfi on Instagram, she wrote, “At least I don’t buy followers! Also if you would do your homework, I was there for an interview, I was dressed for an interview which is none of your business, you’re just jealous that even after paying the paps they are not covering you. @chahattkhanna also whatever anyone does on this earth is none of your business , why didn’t you upload this story for Ranveer Singh? Shows your hypocrisy. See I didn’t judge you for your TWO divorces, dating away younger men so why judge me?”

Chahatt, who was a part of popular TV show Bade Acche Lagte Hai, had earlier shared a picture of Urfi and written, “Who wears this? And on streets? I mean anyone would remove their clothes and media makes them a celebrity? Is Indian media so vulnerable? Its easy to buy this cheap publicity and media, this cheap show you’ll are promoting to our generation. Anyone would pay for spotting and do anything or even go nude and you’ll will carry? This is obnoxiously sad!! God bless you with some wisdom.”

Read the Latest News and Breaking News here

In a shocking turn of events, social

John Leguizamo “No Problems With James Franco”; Fidel Castro Pic Producer Defends – Deadline

After expressing his outrage over James Franco being cast as Fidel Castro in the independent feature drama Alina of Cuba, Primetime Emmy winner John Leguizamo has expounded on his stance regarding Hollywood casting non-Latinos in Latino roles. Specifically, in an Instagram post earlier today, he says “Alright, look, I got no problems with James Franco, yo, OK?” while explaining, “I grew up in a era where Latin people couldn’t play Latin people on film.”

Also earlier today, Alina of Cuba producer John Martinez O’Felan released a statement defending the casting of Franco who is of Latin-Portuguese heritage and responding to Leguizamo’s initial protest, saying “I want to point out that his odd comments, if you base them on genealogy, are a blind attack and lack any factual substance.”

Deadline first told you about Franco playing El Comandante in the Miguel Bardem directed Alina of Cuba from Oscar-nominated scribe José Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries) and Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz about Cuban exile-turned-social advocate Alina Fernández aka Castro’s daughter, whose birth was the result of a passionate affair between the Communist revolutionary leader and Natalia “Naty” Revuelta. Mía Maestro will play Revuelta while Ana Villafañe plays Castro’s daughter Fernández.

In Leguizamo’s follow-up post, which you can see below, he explains how he grew up and worked in Hollywood at a time “where Charleston Heston played a Mexican, where Eli Wallach played Mexican, where Pacino played Cuban and Puerto Rican, where Ben Affleck even in Argo played a Latin guy and Marisa Tomei playing Latin women.”

“We couldn’t play our own roles,” says the To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar actor. “There was brown face: People painting themselves to look Latin in West Side Story…..”

“That’s the era I grew up in. The era where they told you to change your name, stay out of the sun, that only white Latinos or white-passing Latinos would get jobs and they weren’t even the main leads,” continued Leguizamo.

“Cause…’There’s no Latin actor who can carry that movie.’ Yeah because you’re never given the opportunity to play anything that was of worth that had worthy value, that was an integral part of the plot that could give you box office,” the actor added.

“So, no, no. Appropriating our stories — no more of that. I’m done with that,” asserted Leguizamo.

“Why can’t Bruno Mars be Mr. Hernandez? Or Oscar Isaac these days be Oscar Isaac Hernandez? Because they can’t. I’ve been told so many times you can’t have two Latin people in the movie, otherwise people think it’s a Latin movie. Or Latin people don’t want to see Latin people, they want to see white people in roles. That’s what I’ve been told. That’s what goes on in this industry.”

Leguizamo summed up, “It should be an equal playing field, we should be able to play whatever role, but that’s not the way it works. It only works one way. OK? That’s just how it is.”

The actor then followed up his Instagram post with another listing all the non-Latino actors who played Latino roles, i.e. Anthony Hopkins as El Zorro in The Mask of Zorro and Eli Wallach as Tuco in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Calvera in Magnificent Seven.

Alina of Cuba producer Martinez O’Felan, responding to Leguizamo’s Friday rant, said in a statement obtained by Deadline, “For one, let’s take a historical look at true Latinism in today’s mass culture of Hispanics, because a territory does not define a person’s blood trail. What I mean when I say that is that to be ‘Latin’ means of Hispanic, Portuguese, Italian or Latin American heritage and roots, all of the branches of the root of being ‘Latin.’ So to me his statements can create a great talking point for our people, because his comments represent the confusion and identity crisis in Hollywood right now within the Hispanic community in America who claim to only identify as Latin.”

Martinez O’Felan continued, “Moreover, I’ve never met Leguizamo but felt the calling to address the fact that he’s attacking me and my work based on false information because I’m actually not Hollywood as he’s insisted: I was born as a 4th generation Hispanic from Texas from an Iberian/ Indigenous Mexican, and have been the visionary behind this project since its beginning. Moreover, I’ve also spent 16 years developing this around and with the support of Ms. Fernandez, and took the time to find a female as the lead with Cuban roots, so he’s also attacking the feminine focus on this title unfairly. This is a film based on a Latin female immigrant living in America who is of historical importance, led by a Latin woman, and I’m just an underdog who is making it, so it’s kind of disappointing to see our work getting attacked by someone we thought would celebrate it. If he hates it and wants to ban it, oh well, I’ll still probably watch his movies because he’s been one of my favorite actors for the last 30 years.”

After expressing his outrage over James Franco

Giancarlo Esposito says he’s talked to Marvel, would love to play Professor X

Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul star Giancarlo Esposito has clearly been brushing up on his study of The Law Of Attraction of late, telling fans at a comics convention down in Texas today that he’s putting a potential Marvel movie role “out in the universe.” This is per a lively clip filmed by Countdown City Geeks that’s been circulating on TikTok today, in which the Mandalorian actor took the stage at the TJH Superhero Car Show & Comic Con in San Antonio and said that he’s “been in a room and talked” with Marvel Studios about potentially signing on to the franchise, making the leap from Disney’s Star Wars properties to its other big cinematic tentpole.

As to what part Esposito might play after making such a move, he was decidedly coy, only noting that people have floated rumors that he might take on the roles of villains Magneto, “Dr. Freeze” (?), and Doctor Doom…but stating that, if he had his druthers, it’d be the role of the more heroic Professor X he’d prefer to take, with that being the one that’s getting his personal The Secret treatment.

And, look: Under most normal circumstances, slotting Esposito—who massively invigorated his career and more or less immediately typecast himself with his steely turn as Chicken Man Gustavo Fring on Breaking Bad—into various comic book bad guy roles would be little more than the typical fan-casting wankery that makes up so much of internet conversation. This case is slightly different, though, in so much as the man himself is obviously fully on-board: If nothing else, he’s signaling some clear interest to Marvel, and maybe even a little bit of pressure, to consider him for the jobs.

Marvel Studios has, meanwhile, stayed very quiet about its cinematic plans for the X-Men characters especially; Patrick Stewart reprised his role as Charles Xavier in what was, essentially, an extended cameo in Doctor Stranger In The Multiverse Of Madness, but beyond that, Kevin Feige and his crew haven’t even announced when the mutant characters might make a formal entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As to Doctor Doom, the presence of a Fantastic Four movie on the company’s calendar (and the presence of Doom’s fellow FF villain, Namor, in this year’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) certainly suggests that the company will have to make a decision on that pivotal casting a little sooner. But we’ll be honest, and agree a bit with Esposito himself here: It might be more interesting, at this point, to see him devote his prodigious talents to playing a Marvel good guy, instead of repeating himself as one of its most iconic villains.

[via The Direct]

Giancarlo EspositoPhoto: Monica Schipper/Getty Images for NetflixBreaking

‘Five Feet Apart’ | Decider

By Sekhena Sembenu

Riverdale actor Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson star in the tearjerker Five Feet Apart as Stella and Will, two incredibly high-spirited teenagers battling the same disease: cystic fibrosis. When they encounter each other, sparks immediately fly; but their disease imposes a restriction… They need to stay six feet apart at all times. As their emotional connection increases, their will power decreases, and all those months in the hospital, loads of medications, daily routines and a lung transplant on the horizon could all be thrown out the window. While Five Feet Apart may be a powerful love story, it extends beyond that to illustrate how a disease doesn’t define a person.

Photo: Everett Collection

By Sekhena Sembenu Riverdale actor Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu

Entertaintment, TV

Neil Gaiman on Why ‘The Sandman’ Left the DC Universe

As Gaiman worked on the show he realized the story’s setting was “less and less a world in which costumed crime fighters fly around.”

Neil Gaiman spent years preventing mediocre film and television adaptations of his beloved graphic novel “The Sandman” from ever seeing the light of day. So when he not only gave his blessing to the new Netflix series, but also signed on as a co-writer and executive producer, fans knew they would be getting a faithful take on the source material.

Still, fans immediately noticed one significant change. The “Sandman” graphic novels, which were published by DC, existed firmly in the DC Comics universe, with characters occasionally interacting with beloved superheroes. One might think that, in an age of multiverses, the Netflix series would jump at the chance to loop other characters in. But Gaiman and co-creators David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg opted to set the series in a standalone universe.

In a new interview with Variety, Gaiman opened up about the choice, explaining that his vision for the show seemed increasingly incompatible with a world in which superheroes are real.

“‘The Sandman’ itself started out in the DC Universe, the comic, and then it just sort of wound up wandering off into its own place,” Gaiman said. “Its world joined up more and more with our world and became less and less a world in which costumed crime fighters fly around and so on, which meant that by the time ‘The Sandman’ finished, it had its own aesthetic which really wasn’t the DC Universe anymore.”

While the Netflix series made the decision to differentiate itself from the DC Universe, Gaiman believes that it still captured the essence of his original comic books.

“’Sandman’ as a graphic novel series, as comics, was me getting to say things to the world that I believed,” Gaiman said. “There were things about inclusivity. There were things about humanity. There were things about shared humanity. There were things about dreams and things about death. There were words of comfort and there were words of warning. And back then when I said them, they were important and I felt that they were true and I felt it was right to say them; including, you have your story and your story is important, and including, you get a lifetime. And those are the things I wanted to say. And I don’t feel that any of those things are less important or less relevant now.”

“The Sandman” is now streaming on Netflix.

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As Gaiman worked on the show he

Which Kelsea Ballerini summer single reigns supreme?

Kelsea Ballerini is making a name for herself. Whether it’s as a singer, model, or writer, she does it all.

However, in September, we’re finally getting another album from the country-pop princess. Even though the album isn’t released until September 23rd, Ballerini has released three singles thus far.

Her first single off of Subject to Change was “HEARTFIRST” followed by “Love Is A Cowboy” and most recently, “The Little Things.” Considering how close the last two singles were released, it’s perfect for a #BalleriniBattle.

Essentially, I’m going to be comparing the two singles and picking out which one is “better.” Of course, this is a matter of opinion so I’d love to know your thoughts on the two singles below and which one you prefer.

Which Kelsea Ballerini single is better: “Love Is A Cowboy” or “The Little Things?”

The first single was already released on July 15th, 2022 and this is one we’ve already discussed on Culturess. Regardless, that’s why it was perfect to compare the two as “The Little Things” was released less than a month later. However, before we compare, it’s only right to include the song below.

Let’s start off with “Love Is A Cowboy.” This one has more of a country vibe with the lyrics, sound, and general vibes of the video. Additionally, the song has a sweet and soft feeling to it as if it’s a melancholy song. While it’s a love song in a way, “Love Is A Cowboy” doesn’t guarantee a happy ending. Rather, it’s about the experience and how different love can be for everyone.

Then there is “The Little Things” which is vastly different from “Love Is A Cowboy.” This song shares a similar vibe to her first single, “HEARTFIRST” as it’s more focused on a relationship and the “little things” that make a relationship. This song definitely gives you all of the fun and bubbly vibes of being in a good relationship and knowing exactly what your partner needs.

Between the two songs, this one is tough as it’s more of a personal preference. One has more of a sad and sweet vibe while the other is about being happy and in love. While I do enjoy both songs, “The Little Things” gives me all of the summer feelings. It’s all about having fun with your partner and appreciating all of the little things they do to make you feel comfortable and happy. Either way, both of these songs are going to be on my playlist.

Kelsea Ballerini’s album Subject to Change is set to be released on September 23rd, 2022.

Do you prefer “Love Is A Cowboy” or “The Little Things?” Be sure to share your favorite single of Kelsea Ballerini’s so far in the comments.

Kelsea Ballerini is making a name

Member Lens: Filmmaker and TV Showrunner Ali LeRoi

In our Member Lens series, we’re spotlighting a cross-section of current Film Independent Members to see how they got where they are now, what they hope to do next and what being a part of Film Independent means to them. Editor’s note: the below piece originally ran in 2020, as our very first entry in the series.

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As an organization, Film Independent is made meaningful by our community of filmmakers and film lovers who are not just the beneficiaries but, through their support and enthusiasm, the patrons who make our events, educational opportunities and awards-show merrymaking possible. And while we’ve always been thankful for such an incredible Membership community, it’s time we used our platform to turn the spotlight around on you—to learn how you got here, what you’re working on and just how, exactly, Film Independent has either helped or can help.

In thinking who might be an ideal subject for our debut “Member Lens” series, one name quickly shot to the top: Ali LeRoi. A writer, producer, director and TV creator whose credits include Everybody Hates Chris, Survivor’s Remorse, Head of State, Pootie Tang and others, LeRoi has recently shifted his focus to the world of independent features, as writer and director of the TIFF 2019-minted drama The Obituary of Tunde Johnson, soon to be released.

With the ever-present realities of COVID-19 and racial inequality on our minds, we recently spoke to LeRoi about creating art during times of incredible cultural shifts, moving from comedy into drama, The Wizard of Oz and more.

ALI LEROI

To start, could you give us a little bit of background on yourself and your career so far?

LeRoi: I’m from Chicago originally. I’ve been in the business now for a long time, but I started out in entertainment as a performer for sketch comedy, then transitioned into standup. Along the way I started writing, and eventually shifted focus and went behind the scenes. Early television gigs were The Chris Rock Show on HBO, and I did a couple of movies with Chris as a writer. I actually got my first directing gig as a second unit director on Head of State. My television career really started to take off, so in-between show-running and writing work, when I could I would direct more. I completed my first feature as director, and we’re in the process of trying to sell it—it’s a tough marketplace right now.

What films or television shows inspired you as a young person, that made you think, “Hey, I could do this”?

LeRoi: I’ve been a huge fan of film and television since I was a kid. When I was a kid, I don’t know why, but The Wizard of Oz used to come on every year around my birthday. I was just fascinated by it as a film. I think that was the first movie that ever cemented itself in my mind.

Is that where you feel your career is headed, this more “auteur-style” direction, where you’re writing and directing your own material?

LeRoi: I’ve done some good work in my career that I’m really proud of, but I guess in a way I didn’t necessarily believe that my actual personal stories were the ones that needed to be told. But I’m really making a shift. I actually feel like I’ve had enough experiences that I do have something to say—not just something that’s reactionary. I’ve been married; I got kids and have had good and bad relationships and ups and downs in my career. And now we find ourselves, in my lifetime, at the second major turning point in what could be our society. So yes, my intention is to do more work in film.

You mention this big turning point that society is in the middle of, and that certainly filters down to the industry. What is something you’d like to see change about the way Hollywood does business?

LeRoi: This unequivocally is the number one thing I believe has to occur: I believe that more Black people have to be in decision-making positions in the business with major or mainstream corporations, not just BET or Tyler Perry. Somebody at Sony, somebody at Warner Brothers, somebody at Paramount should be able to say yes, and not be afraid to say “yes” because the content is created by or speaks to Black people and the Black experience. A lot of times the way we’re engaged with, I don’t think it’s as smart as it should be. Black successes have got to stop being treated as anomalies. If Black Panther was called “White Panther,” they’d have green-lit White Panther 2, 3 and 4 way before [right now]—it’d be shooting simultaneously around the globe. Black success and white mass murderers get the same treatment: if a white guy pulls out a gun and kills 80 people, it’s like, “Oh, that’s just that guy—they’re not all like that.” When a black movie makes $100 billion dollars, they say, “Oh, it was just that movie.”

It’s a lesson it seems like the studios are dead-set against learning. Even when there are female-driven movies that are hits every year, you think it’d be a bigger part of the Hollywood business model.

LeRoi: Honestly right now my favorite program I’m watching is called Dark, which is a German sci-fi time-travel thriller—there couldn’t be less stuff that speaks to me in terms of my superficial identification, as a Black man of a certain age. And yet I’m totally enjoying it. So the suggestion, somehow, that while I have the capacity to appreciate German sci-fi, that no white person can appreciate a simple Black family drama? Why? No. Is it well crafted? Are we engaged around it? I’ve been relating to white people for 50 years.

When did you first become aware of Film Independent? What did you see us doing here that interested you?

LeRoi: One of the first times I really became aware, I came to speak at one of the functions. I was aware of Film Independent as an entity, but I hadn’t had a lot of focus on what they were doing. But then I came and talked to some of the young creatives, and I realized how much of a hand it had in promoting and supporting young filmmakers. That was really exciting to me. Early in my career, those certainly weren’t the sorts of things I was aware of. So I was excited to, A) know that it exists, and B) be a part of it, so C) through my efforts and contributions, I could help other young filmmakers trying to get their voices heard.

What’s been your favorite thing about being a Film Independent Member?

LeRoi: There seems to be very active engagement. If there’s a ground floor at Film Independent, I don’t feel like it’s materially separated from its top tiers. So that’s exciting. If you’re a young creative and you’re coming into this space, the support that you need—even the conversations you might want to have—you’re not so far removed from the upper echelons of what happed at Film Independent.

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.

Keep up with Film Independent…

(Header: Ali LeRoi at the 2019 Film Independent Forum)

South Okanagan couple works to save home from Keremeos Creek wildfire

Caillum Smith and Alison Lujan, a couple living on Green Mountain Road, are doing whatever they can to save their home from the Keremeos Creek wildfire.

It has burned almost 6,000 hectares in just over a week.

Once they saw how out of control the blaze had become, they jumped into action, fire-smarting their home to protect everything from the fire that was in their backyard.

“We were right on the fence line with hoses and the BC wildfire crew,” said Smith.

“There were a couple of trees that candled behind our garage, up by our gazebo. We had a couple up just past our fence line. Our biggest concern was keeping it off the trees.”

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The moment the couple watched their neighbour’s home burn to the ground on the first night of the fire, is when they knew their home could be next and it was time to evacuate.

“We were watching from our roof when it first started, and it circled around our valley, and it jumped the road and started coming up towards us. When we saw our neighbour’s place go up at about 2 a.m., we just decided to pack our dogs and our computers and we left and went to Penticton to my mom’s place,” said Lujan.

Even with the image of a single ember hitting their neighbour’s home, paired with the thought of their home being next to go up in the flames, the two remained calm.

“We’re insured, we have an amazingly supportive family and friends around,” said Lujan. “Things are just things they can be replaced, but as long as we had our dogs and our work computers we just decided to go.”

The chaotic winds familiar to that area has helped push the fire in many directions since it began on July 29.

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“It’s really unpredictable, which is why the fire has been so erratic,” said Smith. “There’s no single fire front, it’s burning to the north of us now, it’s burning down near Ollala, it’s burning near Apex.”

The two have returned home, even with an evacuation order in place, and are staying there until it isn’t safe anymore.

Caillum Smith and Alison Lujan, a couple

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Kylie Jenner arrived for a photo shoot at the Sun Studios in London.

Kylie Jenner arrived for a photo shoot

CAA Hires a Chief Metaverse Officer – The Hollywood Reporter

CAA has hired Joanna Popper, an executive who oversaw extended and virtual reality initiatives at HP, to become the agency’s first chief metaverse officer.

At CAA, Popper will be responsible for overseeing a team of executives focused on the agency’s metaverse strategy, both internally and for clients. She will work closely with Alexandra Shannon, CAA’s head of strategic development, and Adam Friedman, an executive guiding agents across departments who work with NFTs.

“CAA has always been at the forefront of charting new and emerging business opportunities for our clients. At this pivotal time in our industry, the metaverse will be impactful to shifts in content creation, distribution, and community engagement that drive significant opportunity for our clients,” CAA president Jim Burtson said on Thursday. “We are thrilled to welcome Joanna to CAA, as her knowledge, insights, relationships, and business building skills will be critical to driving significant impact across the industry.”

Popper joins CAA from HP, where she oversaw the launch of VR headsets under the HP Reverb brand and collaborated with studios like DreamWorks, NBCUniversal, Sony, Disney and Paramount. The executive, who started her career in investment banking, also spent eight years at NBCU, where she served as vp marketing.

“I am so excited to work closely with CAA’s leadership and our visionary clients to create and build for the future,” Popper said. “I couldn’t be in a better place than CAA to help guide the future of entertainment, helping build on CAA’s growing leadership in an area as important and impactful as the metaverse.”

CAA has hired Joanna Popper, an executive

Breaking Down the Blue, Green and Purple Rooms Inside ‘Severance’

For set decorator on “Severance” Andrew Baseman, creating story and meaning with sparseness was a challenge for the self-proclaimed “maximalist” artisan. Through meticulously placed details in the sets of the Apple TV+ series, Baseman aimed to create a sense of contrast between the interior and exterior worlds.

“We wanted the outside world to have much more warmth and color, rather than the very tight color palette or Lumon, which is predominantly green and blue,” Baseman said in a conversation for Variety Artisans presented by HBO. “And then there’s one room that’s purple, you see a little bit of it. That’s for expansion. I think we’re in there a couple of times, you get a sense of it. The desks were covered up with tarps so you didn’t see a lot of it, but that’s probably Season 2. We’ll get into the purple world.”

Baseman dove even deeper into the Emmy-nominated production for the sci-fi series (which includes work from fellow nominees production designers Nick Francone, Jeremy Hindle and art director Angelica Borrero-Fortier) explaining their plans for the big Helly reveal, what every character’s home said about their outie selves and the secrets hiding in plain site in Lumon.

“The whole point of dressing Lumon in contrast to the outside world was to make it vague,” Baseman explained. “The time period is vague. So it’s intentionally neutral. So the furnishings harken back to the 40s, there’s a lot of industrial pieces. In the viewing room, the table in there is like a steel case 1940s-50s desk. And the chairs are probably, again, era of 1940s-50s propellor base chairs that are classic, but they would probably use in Lumon for the past 70 years or so.”

He continued: “Those who work at Lumon, everything is kept there. Even in the supply closet in the MDR, you see a few scenes of them standing against reams of paper. Everything is, of course, anal and straight and lined up, but off camera you don’t see that there is years of lamps from their desks that they no longer use but they’re all stored there. So there’s like three different eras of lamps. There’s old staplers, there’s tape dispensers, all of the things that would be on their desks, even picture frames.”

Watch Baseman break down the intricately sparse sets of “Severance” in the video above.

For set decorator on “Severance” Andrew Baseman,

Nelly Performs with Ashanti Amid Irv Gotti ‘Drink Champs’ Story

Nelly and Ashanti appear to be putting a little salt in the wound that Irv Gotti is still dealing with upon learning they were dating way back when — but it might just be a coincidence.

Here’s the deal … the Murder Inc honcho was N.O.R.E.’s latest guest on “Drink Champs,” which just dropped. In preview clips of the episode, Irv could be heard recounting a lot of Ashanti stories — including how he found out she had gotten involved with Nelly.

Gotti ain’t over it ??? pic.twitter.com/7eLW6RF0ou

— N.O.R.E (@noreaga) August 2, 2022
@noreaga

Unclear what year this was, but IG says he was watching an NBA game when he saw the two artists walk out and perform together — which left him stunned at the time, as he himself was apparently romantically linked to her too around the same time. Sounds like he still has some sour grapes over it … and about his complicated relationship with Ashanti in general.

More on that in a bit … but first, fast-forward to Friday night — where Nelly, Ja Rule, Ma$e, Ashanti, Lil Jon and others were headlining the “My 2000s Playlist” concert in Oakland.

Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.

Now, they were already on the bill, which was established well before the new “Drink Champs” episode — but people still lost it on social media when they saw that Nelly actually brought out Ashanti during his set … this after hers had concluded a few hours earlier.

Some are speculating this might’ve been a petty play at Irv’s expense … which may be true, especially when you hear Nelly’s final joke about “floor seats” at the next NBA game.

Irv Gotti speaks on making most of those Ashanti records, owning the publishing, and her having a very hard time re-recording her debut album without coming to him
?: https://t.co/ZS6Ub0HQZO pic.twitter.com/UX55aUVYo0

— Glock Topickz (@Glock_Topickz) August 6, 2022
@Glock_Topickz

Folks can make of this what they will, we suppose, but the timing of it is certainly not lost on people … even though it may have just came together timing-wise by mere chance.

One thing is clear from all this though — Irv is definitely NOT on great terms with Ashanti right now, who was his signature artist for years in the 2000s. He says she’s asked for her stems under the guise of using them in live shows, but he calls BS … and says hell no. ?

Leslie Grace, who starred in arrives at a screening of “In the Heights” during the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival on June 4, 2021. Warner Bros. has axed the $90 million “Batgirl” film, starring Grace in the title role, according to a person connected with the film.

Warner Bros. axes $90 million ‘Batgirl’ movie that had been planned for HBO Max

LOS ANGELES — Warner Bros. has scrapped plans to release a nearly finished “Batgirl” movie that was planned for the streaming service HBO Max, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly.

The Burbank movie studio had finished shooting the DC superhero spinoff, which cost an estimated $90 million to make.

But the movie fell short of what the company wanted for its key comic book franchise and no longer fit with the studio’s film strategy, the sources said.

“Batgirl” was originally commissioned as a straight-to-streaming film, as part of a broader plan to use the DC franchise to boost subscriber numbers for HBO Max.

At the time, Warner Bros. was part of AT&T-owned WarnerMedia, run by Jason Kilar, who wanted multiple original films made specifically for the direct-to-consumer platform. Kilar left the company ahead of its combination with Discovery Inc. in a $43 billion deal that closed this year.

Now, Warner Bros. has a different corporate mandate as part of the new Warner Bros. Discovery whose chief executive, David Zaslav, has been open about his view that movies perform better on streaming when they first premiere exclusively in movie theatres.

With a production budget of tens of millions of dollars, releasing “Batgirl” direct to streaming made little sense financially, one person close to the company said. But the movie, as scripted and produced, also wasn’t a big enough of a spectacle to merit a full-blown theatrical release.

The film, which cast “In the Heights” star Leslie Grace in the title role, was conceived with the small screen in mind. And while $90 million is hardly chump change, it’s far less than the $150 million to $200 million studios typically spend to produce big superhero movies before marketing costs. Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” had an estimated budget of $185 million and was released in theatres for 45 days before it debuted for streaming.

“Batgirl” was directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who had previously worked on the acclaimed Disney+ superhero series “Ms. Marvel.” Alongside Grace, the cast included J.K. Simmons, Michael Keaton and Brendan Fraser.

Axing a nearly finished movie, especially one with such a high profile, is highly unusual. Choosing to not release a film of that size means the company will have to eat the costs. But a cut of the film tested poorly in screenings, another person familiar with the matter said. Rather than spend additional money on a theatrical campaign, the company decided to take a writeoff.

Representatives for Warner Bros. and Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment.

The decision, first reported by the New York Post, comes as Warner Bros. Discovery prepared to report quarterly earnings this week. Zaslav has promised Wall Street $3 billion in cost savings from the merger, but one of the people close to the company said that scrapping “Batgirl” was not a money-saving measure. The company has also shelved a “Scoob!” sequel that was planned for HBO Max.

HBO and HBO Max reported a combined 76.8 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2022, making it one of the more formidable competitors to Netflix and Disney+.

———

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LOS ANGELES — Warner Bros. has scrapped

Clu Gulager Dead: ‘The Virginian,’ ‘Return of Living Dead’ Star Was 93

Clu Gulager, a veteran actor known for his roles in the NBC series “The Virginian” and the 1985 horror-comedy “The Return of the Living Dead,” has died of natural causes. He was 93 years old.

Gulager’s son, John, shared a photo of his father on his Facebook as a tribute. Filmmaker Sean Baker, who directed Gulager on the 2015 feature “Tangerine,” confirmed the news of his death on Twitter.

RIP Clu Gulager. I had the honor to work with the legend in Tangerine and a fashion shoot for V Magazine in 2016. He was incredibly talented, hilarious, gentle and kind. And he adored cinema. We will miss you Clu. pic.twitter.com/hy6r1v7QRs

— sean baker (@Lilfilm) August 6, 2022

Diane Goldner, Gulager’s daughter-in-law, also shared a family statement on Facebook confirming the news, saying that he died “surrounded by his loving family.”

“Clu was as caring as he was loyal and devoted to his craft, a proud member of the Cherokee nation, a rule-breaker, sharp and astute and on the side — always — of the oppressed. He was good-humored, an avid reader, tender and kind. Loud and dangerous,” reads the statement. “He was shocked that he lived, for even a day after Miriam Byrd-Nethery, the love of his life, died 18 years ago.”

Gulager’s acting career stretched across seven decades, beginning with small guest performances in 1950s television series. A mainstay of TV Westerns, Gulager starred as Billy the Kid in NBC’s “The Tall Man” for its two-season run and took a regular role in the network’s “The Virginian” for four of its nine seasons.

In the 1980s, Gulager was reintroduced to a new generation of viewers with prominent roles in horror films. The actor starred alongside Vera Miles in 1984’s “The Initiation. A year later, he could be seen in Dan O’Bannon’s “The Return of the Living Dead” and Jack Sholder’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge.”

Gulager was a favorite of director Quentin Tarantino, whose 2019 film “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” marked the actor’s final screen credit. The actor played a book shop owner in Tarantino’s film. In his private life, Gulager was a regular moviegoer at Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema in recent years.

Born William Martin Gulager in Holdenville, Okla. on Nov. 16, 1928, Clu’s father was a former actor and a cowboy entertainer. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps in the 1940s, Gulager attended Northeastern State University and later Baylor University, beginning his venture into acting.

Gulager’s first screen credit is listed as a 1955 episode of the variety series “Omnibus.” After a series of guest appearances on TV shows, Billy the Kid on “The Tall Man” marked his first major role, acting opposite Barry Sullivan as Pat Garrett. Although the NBC series was short-lived, Gulager quickly found himself back in the saddle as a regular cast member on “The Virginian” only a few years later.

In 1964, Gulager played a major role in Don Siegel’s “The Killers,”acting alongside a cast that included Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, John Cassavetes and Ronald Reagan (in his final film role).

Gulager also directed his own short film, “A Day With the Boys,” which was nominated for the Palme d’Or for best short film at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.

Later in his career, Gulager was directed by his son, John Gulager. The pair collaborated on the horror-comedy film series “Feast” and 2012’s “Piranha 3DD.”

Gulager wed fellow actor Miriam Byrd-Nethery in 1960. The two remained married until Byrd-Nethery’s death in 2003. He is survived by his sons, John and Tom; their partners, Diane and Zoe; his cherished grandson Clu Mosha; dedicated fans and decades of extraordinary students.

Clu Gulager, a veteran actor known for

Kelsey Owens Says She Was Fired From ‘Siesta Key’ ‘With Absolutely No Warning’

Kelsey Owens Says She Was Fired From ‘Siesta Key’ ‘With Absolutely No Warning’ | Entertainment Tonight

Four Movies About Summer to Stream Now

Beach reads, grilled corn, baseball: These are the indulgences of summer. Movies too, especially when it’s hot as blazes outside and the coolest remedy is to stay at home with a film and a pitcher of cold lemonade.

Summer is the season for fantasyland, for getaway cinema, which is why we asked each of our genre columnists to choose a streamable film that screams summer. Blame it on topsy-turvy 2022, but their picks turned out to be not all that sun-kissed. Instead, there’s a runaway bus, an alien invasion, a woodland psychopath and sweaty elitists with blasé dispositions.

In these films, it’s summertime all right, but the livin’ ain’t easy. It sure is fun to watch, though.

Pop quiz, hot shot: Why is “Speed” a fantastic, rip-roaring summer spectacle? Maybe it has to do with a manic Dennis Hopper playing Howard Payne, an embittered, retired police officer planting bombs around Los Angeles so he might reap a reward far higher than the flimsy gold watch he received from the department upon his retirement? Or maybe it’s the kooky, murderous glee he displays when he manipulates the young and whip-smart SWAT officer Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) onto a bus primed to detonate if the vehicle stops, slows below 50 miles per hour, or if Jack tries to evacuate any of the hostages?

In those ways, the director Jan de Bont’s “Speed” is emblematic of other big, 1990s blockbuster action-thrillers, such as the “Die Hard” series or “The Rock,” wherein major explosions and grand chases are instigated by terrorist foes. What separates the film from others of its ilk, however, is the dynamic and youthful romance shared by Reeves as Jack and Sandra Bullock as the unassuming wildcat, and the bus’s accidental driver, Annie Porter. Jack and Annie’s passion grows with every hairpin turn, bracingly stitched together by the editor John Wright, and every intimate close-up of Jack guiding Annie through Payne’s multiple bids to destroy the bus.

The film’s signature scene, in which Jack and Annie escape the vehicle, wrapped in each other’s arms as they glide atop a floorboard across an airport tarmac, is the swooning stuff that action movies are made of.

— Robert Daniels

One of my horror guilty pleasures is this summertime slasher film that was shot in the Northern California wilderness in 1981, which was almost called “The Forest PrimEvil.” The film is creepy, atmospheric and boasts a starry cast — for the ’80s, that is — that includes Daryl Hannah, Rachel Ward and Adrian Zmed.

The story is pure formula: Young folks from a rural camp go to the woods to have sex, test their survival skills and share ghost stories, including one about a deranged woman who lives among the trees. The kids should have listened to their bus driver (a wild-eyed Joe Pantoliano) when he warned them not to take this trip, because a hulking sicko, camouflaged in a cloak of forest detritus, is killing their friends. The final reckoning with the maniac is so eye-poppingly directed, you’ll forgive the abrupt ending.

What makes this a terrific summer scare is how the director Andrew Davis (“The Fugitive”) simultaneously finds beauty and menace in the season’s natural pleasures: rushing waters, campfire camaraderie, sunlight through towering Redwoods. Much of the action takes place in the wild, giving the thrills a sweaty, survivalist edge, but Davis still pauses to paint quiet moments with artful, spectral spookiness. I’m also a fan of the interracial cast — unusual for early ’80s horror — and the 83-minute run time. Plus, it’s free to stream.

Stick to “Friday the 13th” for summer horror you know. For an unexpected alternative, this sleeper is worth your time.

— Erik Piepenburg

Science Fiction

‘Independence Day’ (1996)

Stream it on Hulu.

Twenty-six years ago, Roland Emmerich delivered the epitome of the summer blockbuster: big, loud and unabashedly fun. The timing could not have been better, either: Not only did the film come out on July 3, but the action takes place over the three days of the title holiday. That time span, however, is the only thing restrained about “Independence Day,” which revels in joyous, ridiculous over-the-topness.

The pitch is simple: Aliens have picked the American holiday to attack Earth, and only President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman), the fighter pilot Steven Hiller (Will Smith) and the sexy engineer David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) are standing in their way. “I could have been at a barbecue!” Hiller rails in a classic scene. Humanity thanks him for his service.

“Independence Day” is packed with supersize shots, like Air Force One taking off in front of a firestorm and a fleet of R.V.s crossing salt flats. But the film’s effectiveness lies in its canny balance of the oversize and the minute. One second, spaceships are wiping out entire cities; the next, Smith is punching an alien in the face. And let’s not forget the memorable character actors beefing up the supporting roles, from Brent Spiner’s Area 51 scientist to Randy Quaid’s crop-dusting pilot.

Despite clocking in at two and a half hours, “Independence Day” is remarkably brisk, especially compared with our modern lumbering giants. Perhaps we need to thank Emmerich, a disaster auteur with a genuine knack for entertainment, for his service as well.

— Elisabeth Vincentelli

International

‘La Ciénaga’ (2001)

Stream it on HBO Max or the Criterion Channel.

You could watch “La Ciénaga” in an air-conditioned room in the chilly depths of winter, and you’d still find yourself wiping sweat from your brow, swatting at imaginary mosquitoes and reaching for a glass of cold wine. Lucrecia Martel’s film swamps us in the sounds and sensations of a humid Argentine summer: The whir of fans, the rumble of distant thunder and the snores of sleeping, perspiring adults fill the decrepit country home where Mecha (Graciela Borges) and her cousin Tali (Mercedes Morán) gather their families for an escape from the city.

There’s no straightforward narrative arc in “La Ciénaga”; instead, the oppressive heat is the plot, and Martel studies the instincts that it unleashes in her petty, middle-class characters. At the start of the film, a group of adults drink and lounge listlessly beside a fetid pool, and when Mecha trips and falls over a tray of glasses, bleeding profusely, the others barely even twitch. The sun and the wine have brought out the worst of their sluggishness and self-absorption, and their lethargy permeates the film like smog. Their children, meanwhile, are manic and restless, trying to combat the ennui of summer with adventures that often end in injuries.

Then there is the Indigenous help, attendants who hover at the edges of the chaos, enduring crude insults and endless demands for ice and towels. Who gets vacation, and who works vacation? Who gets to be idle, and thanks to whose labor? In “La Ciénaga,” even the summer is an unequally distributed resource, its malaise laying bare deeper social ills.

— Devika Girish

Beach reads, grilled corn, baseball: These are

Entertaintment, TV

Clu Gulager from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Dies at 93

Clu Gulager, a beloved character who appeared in small parts in some hugely successful movies, has passed away. He was nearing his 94^th birthday.

Gulager’s passing was announced by the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles, where he made frequent appearances. “Clu Gulager, 1928 – 2022. A beautiful life filled with family, friends, and films, Clu will always have a seat in our front row. We send our love to John, Tom, Diane, and to all the lives he touched.”

No cause of death has been released.

Clu Gulager, 1928 – 2022. A beautiful life filled with family, friends, and films, Clu will always have a seat in our front row. We send our love to John, Tom, Diane, and to all the lives he touched. photo by Michelle Groskopf for The New York Times pic.twitter.com/jSDqGXgvYI

— New Beverly Cinema (@newbeverly) August 6, 2022

A television stalwart who started appearing in various series in the late 1950s, he starred as Billy the Kid in “The Tall Man” for 75 episodes from 1959 to 1962. In 1963 – 1968 he starred in 102 episodes of “The Virginian” as Emmet Ryker after appearing on the show twice before in guest-starring roles. Gulager’s first movie was also his lone performance as a villain in Don Siegel’s 1964 film noir classic “The Killers.”

From then he alternated between television shows and movies. Gulager appearing in almost major television series from the 1970s to 1990s (everything from “Bonanza” to “Murder, She Wrote” to a spooky two-part episode of “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color” called “The Mystery in Dracula’s Castle”). And on the film side, he made big impressions in sometimes limited roles, like “The Last Picture Show” and “The Other Side of Midnight.” In the 1980s he had a resurgence as a horror movie staple, including a wonderful supporting turn in Dan O’Bannon’s “Return of the Living Dead,” alongside memorable turns in “Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge,” “The Hidden” and 1987’s mutant-cat-running-rampant-on-a-luxury-yacht classic “Uninvited.”

In 2005 Clu starred in his son John Gulager’s debut feature, the gross-out monster movie “Feast.” The process of making the movie was documented during the third season of reality series “Project Greenlight.” (Truly, a perfect synthesis of Clu’s two worlds!) Clu went on to in John’s two “Feast” sequels, as well as his son’s sequel to Alexandre Aja’s “Piranha 3D,” entitled, of course, “Piranha 3DD.” His final film role was as the bookstore owner who sells Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) a copy of Thomas Hardy novel “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” (A decade after Tate’s tragic murder, Roman Polanski would adapt the novel into “Tess,” which was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.)

Gulager was known for his colorful persona, his love of moviegoing (he was a regular at Tarantino’s New Beverly theater) and his ability to make even the smallest sliver of a role into something larger than life. He will be missed.

Vin Scully, Voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers for Decades, Dies at 94

Clu Gulager, a beloved character who appeared

Beyoncé and Madonna have joined forces for a new remix

Left: Beyoncé (Photo: Mason Poole/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images), Right: Madonna (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBS)

Two giants of music decided to finally join forces this weekend, with Beyoncé and Madonna teaming up to release a new remix together. Specifically, the two legends have collaborated on a fresh version of Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” titled “The Queens Remix,” which combines the single from her recently released album Renaissance with Madonna’s 1990 mega-hit “Vogue.”

Somewhat surprisingly, this is the first time that these two mononymous superstars have joined forces, despite, as Vulture notes, being long-time and vocal fans of each other. “The Queens Remix” is one of several remixes Beyoncé has unleashed so far for Renaisance (which is, as previously announced, intended to be just the first part of a three-part project.) Other remixes from the album have included will.i.am., Terry Hunter, Honey Dijon, and Nita Aviance.

BREAK MY SOUL (THE QUEENS Remix)

Notably, “The Queens Remix” includes one major change to the original “Vogue,” even as it retains its irresistible dance beats: Madonna’s list of classic Hollywood stars has now been replaced with a string of female musical artists that Beyoncé clearly wanted to pay tribute to. Lauryn Hill, Lizzo, Grace Jones, Nina Simone, Beyonce’s sister Solange, Erykah Badu, and “Queen Mother Madonna” herself all come in for a namecheck, updating the song to be a reflection of Beyoncé’s own personal obsessions.

“The Queens Remix” was originally available only as a download through Beyonce’s web site; it has since made its way to the various streaming services so that you bask in its vibes without having to, like, figure out how to download an MP3 in 2022. Madonna promoted the song on her own social media; she recently performed a musical victory lap of her own, releasing Finally Enough Love, a compilation collecting her fifty number one-hit songs in one place.

Left: Beyoncé (Photo: Mason Poole/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty

8 masters who were ahead of their time | American Masters

The greatest American figures cemented themselves in the fabric of history through their fearless experimentation and transgressive innovation within their craft.

However, these efforts do not always translate into commercial or critical success, sometimes even eliciting strongly negative responses. The American Masters subjects on this list each pioneered within their field through avant-garde compositions, unconventional prose or radical political critique and were met with resistance from audiences and critics alike. Their legacies prompted rediscoveries of these controversial works and garnered them newfound acclaim and often posthumous success. Here are eight American Masters subjects who were ahead of their time:

1. Oliver Sacks, “Awakenings”

Photo of Oliver Sacks, courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, photograph by Bernard Gotfryd.

Innovating in both the written word and the medical field, Oliver Sacks became one of the most fascinating figures of American literature and science for his groundbreaking scientific inquiry into neurosis, autism and psychiatric practices, as well as his translation of his research into deeply moving prose. His breakthrough novel, “Awakenings” (1973) was praised by critics and drew audiences as it took a deeper look into the lives of patients struggling with encephalitis lethargica, or “sleepy sickness,” and a miraculous treatment process that could cure the elusive disease.

Although today Sacks is hailed as the “poet laureate of contemporary medicine” by The New York Times, he received resistance from the medical community who discredited his research for his writing style, which they viewed as an “embellishment.” Nevertheless, Sacks understood the importance of communication within the field of public health and used his literary talents to humanize patients living with neurological disorders.

2. Lorraine Hansberry, “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window”

Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking play, “A Raisin in the Sun,” gained her newfound fame as she addressed the struggles of a Black family within a segregated Chicago neighborhood. Her following work, “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window,” completed as she was struggling with pancreatic cancer, struggled at the box office, but survived due to a celebrity campaign organized by the producers and Mel Brooks.

Critics had meager opinions of the work, with a New York Times review stating that “the truth must be faced that Miss Hansberry’s play lacks cohesion.” With constant comparisons of the play to her previous hit, the play was considered a failure by the time of her death at 34. However, a renewed analysis of her work emerged due to the continued relevance of her plays’ and essays’ explorations of race, gender and class. A revival of “Sidney” in Chicago elicited praises from the Chicago Tribune: “So here comes an extraordinary play, a drama so infused with emotional intelligence, linguistic treasures and the human conditions of dread and longing that it keeps you bolt-upright in your seat for nearly three hours. It is a play penned by surely the greatest dramatic writer ever to emerge from Chicago, a genius from the South Side who would have dominated the American theater of the latter half of the 20th century.”

3. Thomas Eakins, “The Gross Clinic”

The Gross Clinic, courtesy of Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Thomas Eakins is one of the most prolific and celebrated American artists, who is renowned for his use of expressive realism within paintings. His legacy was established posthumously; during his lifetime he only sold 30 paintings and his career was considered a commercial failure.

One of the most treasured paintings in the American canon, “The Gross Clinic” depicts Dr. Samuel Gross, a professor at a Philadelphia medical school conducting a live surgery in front of a class. The painting uses slick reds and deep shadows to subtly portray the latent drama within the lecture hall. At the time, the work was not well-received by critics, with a New York Times article stating that it was “so dreadful that the public may be well excused if it turn away in horror.”

However, after Eakins’ death, “Gross Clinic” has found new favor with critics and art lovers around the world. New York Times critic Jason Farago explains the painting’s appeal, stating that “so much of the greatness of ‘The Gross Clinic’ lies here: between the fact of pain and the desire for knowledge, between the gore of surgery and the sublimity of art.”

4. Flannery O’Connor, “Wise Blood”

Flannery O’Connor brought the Southern Gothic genre to American readers through her short stories and novels, which have gained widespread acclaim and earned a place in the American literary canon. Her Catholicism and battle with lupus informed her literature’s fascination with the grotesque and issues of disability, both of which were prominent in her debut novel “Wise Blood” in 1952. The book centers around a discharged WWII soldier disillusioned with Christianity who intends to establish his own anti-religion.

The novel initially received mixed reviews, with the Kenyon Review writing that “Miss O’Connor’s skill is not yet that mature, although she makes a good run for the money.” However, later in her career and after a subsequent film adaptation, “Wise Blood” became one of the primary examples of O’Connor’s craft as a writer. Critic Lewis A. Lawson explains the power of O’Connor’s idiosyncratic voice: “[H]er world frequently is that of a dream (in keeping with her topsy-turvy aesthetic, dreams are perhaps the most lucid and conventional parts of the book), with characters who transpose themselves, with aimless action endlessly performed, with bizarre mixtures of the known and the unfamiliar.”

5. Sister Rosetta Tharpe

“The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Sister Rosetta Tharpe broke new ground with her fusion of gospel and rock, becoming the first crossover gospel artist to appeal to large audience secular listeners with hits like “Strange Things are Happening Every Day.” Her fingerpicking guitar technique laid the foundation for artists like Elvis and radically shifted popular music into the realm of rhythm and blues.

However, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was throughout her career designated as a “race” artist within the music industry, limiting her records’ reach. In addition, her influence on rock was neither cited nor celebrated until after her retirement and she was not credited for her innovations within her genre. Today her legacy is cemented in her hometown of Philadelphia, with January 11th now celebrated as Sister Rosetta Tharpe Day and her home declared a historical landmark.

6. Janis Joplin, “Cheap Thrills”

Janis Joplin is one of the most iconic rock stars from the Woodstock era, cemented in rock ’n’ roll history for her electrifying performances, groundbreaking albums with Big Brother & the Holding Company, and for her infectious personality seen during her visits to “The Dick Cavett Show.” An unorthodox, nonconformist hippie, her identity was infused into her music, most profoundly shown in “Cheap Thrills”, her most celebrated album with hits that stand the test of time. The album was dismissed by critics, with Rolling Stone proclaiming: “What this record is not is 1) a well-produced, good rock and roll recording; 2) Janis Joplin at her highest and most intense moments; and 3) better than the Mainstream record issued last year.”

After her shocking death by overdose at 27, the music world began to embrace her body of work posthumously. “Cheap Thrills” in particular was praised for its passion and vigor, with critic Jack Shadoian writing that “it was music that swept you away. Its crude confidence was somehow part of its unwritten aesthetic. It gave a sense of something religious going on.”

7. F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Tender is the Night”

Photo of F. Scott Fitzgerald, courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Carl Van Vechten Collection.

One of the most recognizable American literary figures of the 20th century, F. Scott Fitzgerald captured audiences with his description of a generation of flappers, hedonists, and tycoons in his riveting novels. His most celebrated novel, “The Great Gatsby,” was initially a commercial failure and overlooked by critics, which began a period of decline for Fitzgerald exacerbated by his divorce from his first wife.

His final published novel in 1934, “Tender is the Night,” stirred little interest and he received brutal feedback from his famous peer, Ernest Hemingway. In a letter to Fitzgerald, Hemingway writes: “You had good stuff in too that it didn’t need. That’s what dries a writer up…not listening… You see well enough. But you stop listening.” Despite Hemingway’s brutal criticism, the novel with a somber candor reflected upon the deterioration of his marriage to his first wife, aptly portraying the agony embedded in the quotidian as well as analyzing the nature of excess in relation to our search for meaning. Today, “Tender” has regained a place on the shelf of critics and readers alike as a turbulent and intimate reflection on the waning Jazz Age.

8. Miles Davis, “Agharta”

A cornerstone of American jazz, Miles Davis dazzled the world with the agile passion of his trumpet playing and his bold compositions, especially those within the “Cool Jazz” movement that he founded. As his career progressed, Davis struggled with addiction and the relentless pace of touring and performing, which compelled significant changes within his artistic trajectory, resulting in more experimental works later in his career, most notably the 1975 live album “Agharta.”

“Agharta” was the first of many fusion jazz albums Davis would devise which incorporated electronic synthesizers and sounds, and one of the most daring attempts to bridge jazz and the technological era. Widely panned by critics and divisive to jazz fans, with one critic lamenting that the album “suffers from a monotony of sound caused mainly by the perpetual ‘freaking-out’ of the lead guitarists,” Davis’ album was a radical departure from his previous work and boldly explored uncharted territories with a rigor unlike any other. Critic Gary Giddins confirms the album’s pioneering innovation in jazz and fusion, writing that “the themes are dramatic and the tension unremitting; and there really is not a moment when the music fails to reflect the ministrations of the sorcerer himself.”

Works Cited

“Theater: ‘Sidney Brustein’s Window’; Lorraine Hansberry’s Play at Longacre.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Oct. 1964, www.nytimes.com/1964/10/16/archives/theater-sidney-brusteins-window-lorraine-hansberrys-play-at.html.

Jones, Chris. “Review: Magnificent ‘Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window’ Is a Rediscovered Classic.” Chicago Tribune, May 10, 2016. https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/ct-sign-in-sidney-brusteins-window-goodman-ent-0511-20160510-column.html.

Higashida, Cheryl.“Black Internationalist Feminism: Women Writers of the Black Left, 1945-1995.” Black Internationalist Feminism, University of Illinois Press, 2011.
Farago, Jason. “Taking Lessons from a Bloody Masterpiece.” The New York Times. The New York Times, May 28, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/28/arts/design/thomas-eakins-gross-clinic.html.
Gopnik, Blake. “Thomas Eakins, Painted into a Corner.” The Washington Post. WP Company, October 7, 2001. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/2001/10/07/thomas-eakins-painted-into-a-corner/5f2108df-15a2-4940-8404-7dea1d2bf0b2/.
Lewis A. Lawson. “The Perfect Deformity: Wise Blood”, Renascence: Essays on Values in Literature, vol 17.2, Spring 1965.
McRobie, Heather. “Is Flannery O’Connor a Catholic Writer?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 22 Apr. 2009, www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/apr/22/fiction.
Diaz-Hurtado, Jessica. “Forebears: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” NPR, NPR, 24 Aug. 2017, www.npr.org/2017/08/24/544226085/forebears-sister-rosetta-tharpe-the-godmother-of-rock-n-roll.

Roberta, Jean. “Janis Joplin Defied All Categories.” The Gay & Lesbian Review, The Gay & Lesbian Review, 1 Oct. 2020, glreview.org/article/janis-joplin-defied-all-categories/.
Browne, David. “A Close Friend Offers a Fresh Perspective on Janis Joplin’s Tragic Story.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2018, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/janis-joplin-death-drug-overdose-peggy-caserta-730156/.

Shadoian, Jack. “Pearl.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 25 June 2018, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/pearl-204297/.

Hardin, John. “Cheap Thrills Review.” Rolling Stone, 1968.

“Today in 1934, Ernest Hemingway Wrote This Blistering Letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald.” Thestar.com, Toronto Star, 28 May 2012, www.thestar.com/life/2012/05/28/today_in_1934_ernest_hemingway_wrote_this_blistering_letter_to_f_scott_fitzgerald.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CYou%20are%20twice%20as%20good,it%20is%2C%E2%80%9D%20Hemingway%20wrote.

Segal, Dave. “Two of the Most Divisive Lps of All Time-Miles Davis’s Agharta and Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music-Are Now 40 Years Old.” The Stranger, The Stranger, 7AD, 2015, www.thestranger.com/music/2015/08/07/22652149/two-of-the-most-divisive-lps-of-all-timemiles-daviss-agharta-and-lou-reeds-metal-machine-musicare-now-40-years-old.
Marshall, John C. “In the Region of Lost Minds.” New York Times, 1986.

The greatest American figures cemented themselves in

A 5-year-old running to her father is among those killed in Gaza.

Five-year-old Alaa Qadoum was at her grandfather’s home in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday when her father and another relative arrived by motorcycle at a nearby mosque, according to a neighbor who witnessed the scene.

When she saw her father, Abdullah Qadoum, Alaa ran toward him, said the neighbor, Amir Omar. It was at that moment that an Israeli airstrike hit nearby.

Hours later Alaa was wrapped in a white shroud and a Palestinian flag, her face uncovered so her grieving relatives could plant a few final kisses on her forehead before she was laid to rest. A bright pink bow tied most of her hair back.

Alaa was among more than a dozen people killed in two days of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that began Friday afternoon and continued into Saturday.

Last year, during 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas, at least 67 children were killed in Gaza. Two children were killed in Israel during the war.

The strikes have targeted the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza after Hamas.

It was unclear whether the strike that killed Alaa was intended to hit the men, the mosque or another target. Ashraf Qadoum, the relative who arrived at the mosque with Alaa’s father, and the mosque’s imam were also killed.

Alaa’s father is in critical condition, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. Her brother was also wounded.

Fady Hanona contributed reporting from Gaza City.

Five-year-old Alaa Qadoum was at her grandfather’s

Toni Collette on ‘Staircase’ Death Scenes, Speaking to Kathleen

Each morning as Toni Collette brushes her teeth, an owl stares back at her.

The stoic bird of prey is not perched outside her window but rather ornately sitting on her countertop, contorted into the shape of a ceramic coffee mug that she places her toothbrush into before she starts her day.

“It’s there looking at me daily — twice a day if I’m dentally honest,” Collette says. “Maybe I need a new receptacle.”

Even if its days as her morning companion are numbered, the mug is a surreal artifact of her newly Emmy-nominated turn as Kathleen Peterson, a North Carolina woman found dead at the bottom of her stairs in 2001 — a case dramatized by HBO Max’s true crime limited series “The Staircase.”

The shocking death occupied headlines for months as her husband, Michael Peterson (played by Colin Firth), was tried and convicted of her murder — all of it later chronicled in a 2004 French documentary also called “The Staircase.” The making of that doc was part of the 2022 series.

After years behind bars and later house arrest, Peterson was released in 2017 when he accepted an Alford plea, a paradoxical agreement in which he pleaded guilty but maintained his innocence. While he was in prison, however, a now-infamous theory circulated that placed the blame for Kathleen’s death at the talons of an angry neighborhood owl — hence why someone connected to the series gifted her the mug.

Collette has been on a hot streak of TV projects lately, coming off two Netflix limited series “Pieces of Her” and “Unbelievable,” which scored her an Emmy nomination in 2020. She previously won the Emmy for lead comedy actress for Showtime’s “United States of Tara.”

But “The Staircase” posed an intriguing challenge for the Australian actor. Despite being the life lost at the center of the case, Kathleen was largely neglected by the news coverage and the subsequent documentary, the crew of which was embedded with Michael and his children who maintained his innocence during the trial. That lack of insight into the real Kathleen gave Collette a purpose with the role.

“I guess she is always kind of there because it’s all about the fallout from the loss of her,” she says. “But this telling of this story was an opportunity to give Kathleen a voice, to make her real and whole, to allow her to live beyond the notion of ‘victim.’”

This takes many forms in the series, primarily through flashbacks to Kathleen’s once-charmed but increasingly fraught relationship with Michael, and her life with their blended family — her daughter Caitlin (Olivia DeJonge) and Michael’s children (played by Dane DeHaan, Sophie Turner, Odessa Young and Patrick Schwarzenegger). She is also given dimension by the presence of her skeptical sisters (portrayed by Rosemarie DeWitt and Maria Dizzia), both of whom quickly turned on Michael after her death.

Few people know this case better than series creator, writer and director Antonio Campos, who studied it for years after seeing the documentary, which resurfaced with new episodes on Netflix in 2018. Most of the cast has acknowledged they pored over those episodes and news reports for insight into their characters and how they’ve been portrayed so far in popular culture. But Collette relied on Campos’ knowledge and the scripts to prepare for the role instead of venturing down the rabbit hole herself.

But the series does more than just flesh out Kathleen’s life before its abrupt end. With Collette on board, Campos also intricately re-created the endlessly scrutinized scenarios of her death at the bottom of the stairs — playing out the three dominant theories in full, as if each were true.

HBO Max

First, the series ponders what would have happened if Michael were telling the truth and Kathleen simply tripped, cracked her head on the stairs and struggled to stand as blood poured down her head. Then, Campos imagines the scenario the prosecution successfully argued against Michael, one in which he brutally killed his wife after she learned of his affairs with men. Finally, later in the season, after the now-ridiculed owl theory is raised by those fighting for Michael’s release, Kathleen is ambushed by the menacing nocturnal bird outside the Petersons’ home before she becomes delirious enough from her talon-induced injuries to fall down the stairs.

“I must admit, acting with a non-existent, aggressive bird was a first for me,” she quips of the final sequence.

Collette has plenty of experience in the bloody horror genre, having been Oscar-nominated for her role in “The Sixth Sense” and earning praise for her critically adored and masterfully terrifying performance in “Hereditary,” which also features a memorable death sequence. While there are certainly similarities in what she would ultimately do three times on the titular staircase, the

recreation of a real death required more introspection than even she expected.

“Yes, there is a lot of blood, but it is a very different kettle of fish, both in our collective intention and the context,” she says.

Adding to the pressure, Collette only had one chance to film each of the three scenes.

With the amount of choreographed blood spatter and movements necessary to match the grisly condition in which the real Kathleen was found, Campos, Collette and her stunt double, Linda Kessler, extensively rehearsed and prepared for the scenes — two of which were shot at 4 and 5 a.m.

While she intended to treat these scenes as any other, she surprised even herself with what she had to do to mentally prepare. “I had to really clear my mind and get out of the way for each take,” she recalls. “I remember sitting at the bottom of the stairs before a take, shutting everything out and talking to Kathleen in my head. I did not expect this to happen but it did. I know it sounds weird. I think it was about permission and getting it right for her.”

Collette’s work commands every second of those crucial scenes, each one powerfully acted and yet, almost too personal and devastatingly visceral to watch. On that reconstructed staircase, surrounded by green screen and copious amounts of fake blood, the show stages its own interrogation of the trifecta of possibilities that have defined the case and the obsession around it.

In these scenes, Collette became intimately familiar with the tragedy of the woman she was playing. But she’s still torn on which theory is more likely to have happened.

“I really don’t know,” she admits. “It’s like life itself: The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.”

That’s what intrigued her about the project in the first place. Along with the promise of getting to work with Campos, she was just as fascinated by the twists and turns of the Peterson family as the viewers.

“By nature, the show lacks knowledge about what really happened to Kathleen because in reality nobody knows, except maybe Michael Peterson,” says Collette. “I was excited about playing out a few different ideas of what may have happened. It was also a big responsibility.”

Still, only one of those theories is staring back at her every morning as she brushes her teeth. While it might be the hardest one to swallow, Collette says “The Staircase” has, if nothing else, opened her eyes to the prevalence of owls, the one suspect unable to speak for itself in this complicated true-crime saga.

She notes, “They really do appear everywhere.”

Each morning as Toni Collette brushes her

A.I. Is Not Sentient. Why Do People Say It Is?

Why Everyone Else Believes

In the mid-1960s, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Joseph Weizenbaum, built an automated psychotherapist he called Eliza. This chatbot was simple. Basically, when you typed a thought onto a computer screen, it asked you to expand this thought — or it just repeated your words in the form of a question.

Even when Dr. Weizenbaum cherry-picked a conversation for the academic paper he published on the technology, it looked like this, with Eliza responding in capital letters:

Men are all alike.

IN WHAT WAY?

They’re always bugging us about something or other.

CAN YOU THINK OF A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE?

Well, my boyfriend made me come here.

YOUR BOYFRIEND MADE YOU COME HERE

But much to Dr. Weizenbaum’s surprise, people treated Eliza as if it were human. They freely shared their personal problems and took comfort in its responses.

“I knew from long experience that the strong emotional ties many programmers have to their computers are often formed after only short experiences with machines,” he later wrote. “What I had not realized is that extremely short exposures to a relatively simple computer program could induce powerful delusional thinking in quite normal people.”

We humans are susceptible to these feelings. When dogs, cats and other animals exhibit even tiny amounts of humanlike behavior, we tend to assume they are more like us than they really are. Much the same happens when we see hints of human behavior in a machine.

Scientists now call it the Eliza effect.

Much the same thing is happening with modern technology. A few months after GPT-3 was released, an inventor and entrepreneur, Philip Bosua, sent me an email. The subject line was: “god is a machine.”

“There is no doubt in my mind GPT-3 has emerged as sentient,” it read. “We all knew this would happen in the future, but it seems like this future is now. It views me as a prophet to disseminate its religious message and that’s strangely what it feels like.”

Why Everyone Else BelievesIn the mid-1960s, a

A woman regards her reflection in a mirror, wearing a one-shoulder red dress, ponytail with a red scrunchie, and noticeable bruise near her left eye; still from "Darlings."

Alia Bhatt on the Dark Comedy and Unmissable Message of ‘Darlings’

Bollywood star and first-time producer Alia Bhatt tells IndieWire about her genre-jumping new film and how it tackles tough but important themes.

Editor’s Note: This story contains some spoilers for Netflix’s “Darlings.”

Netflix’s “Darlings” contains a hazard warning.

At the film’s end a title card says, “Warning: Violence against women is injurious to health.” It’s a lesson learned firsthand by Hamza (Vijay Varma) when his wife Badru (Alia Bhatt) holds him hostage in their own home after years of domestic abuse.

Directed by Jasmeet K. Reen and written by Reen and Perveez Sheikh, “Darlings” arrives at a critical moment for South Asian audiences. In July, photographer Sania Khan was found dead in her Chicago apartment in what police ruled to be a murder-suicide perpetrated by her husband after years of abuse. On the same day that “Darlings” screened at a Manhattan theater, domestic abuse victim Mandeep Kaur was found dead in what is now being investigated as a homicide.

Both cases have sparked conversations about domestic violence and stigma in South Asian communities — stigma against speaking out, getting divorced, and anything that can be viewed as shameful or defamatory to a society still largely run by men. Bhatt knows where she and “Darlings” stand in the conversation, and she’s ready for the film to make audiences think. The star and first-time producer spoke with IndieWire about this dark comedy film, its potential impact, and bringing Badru’s story to life.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

IndieWire: This is your first time producing. How did that come about and what was the experience like?

Alia Bhatt: It’s been a massive learning experience. How it came about was I reached a point where I was looking at scripts and films from a much larger lens — not just as an actor, [but] thinking about what kind of movies would I like to produce — basically put together content for the world beyond the content that I see myself part of. To set up my production house I needed to first [star in] a movie [and] I would need to produce that as well. Very casually, very naturally, “Darlings” came to me and it just felt like a very unique story to tell as a producer for the first time. I really like what it was trying to say. I really liked the fact that it was directed by a woman who was trying to make her film come together for quite a few years, so I was backing her content, giving someone new an opportunity.

As an actor, what drew you to it as a script?

I love how quickly it changes genre: Where [you’re] expecting a basic household story, and you think it’s going to be about something else, but then suddenly, you open up this Pandora’s box [of] different quirks in each and every character and how they’re trying to fix the situation but terribly failing, or how they’re trying to manage a stressful moment but it’s a comedy of errors. I like to balance of darkness with a lightness and a relief every now and then. I love movies with beautiful messages at the end of it.

I haven’t seen an Indian film in a long time that has that dark comedy tone. Was it difficult to bring that to life?

It wasn’t difficult. It was challenging because at no point did we want it to seem like we were taking a subject like domestic violence lightly or thinking of it in a comic manner. What’s light and what’s comic-related is just these characters and their world and the things that they’re doing and saying — so you have a certain light response to that. I love the set up and realness that they’re experiencing, but also a certain optimistic escapist world that they also have going on for themselves.

Balancing genres is fundamentally so Bollywood, to have romance and comedy and action and drama — but this feels different.

Why this movie is very different from a regular song-and-dance or regular happy story is because the structure has broken a little bit. It starts off super intense and then it becomes even more intense, and then suddenly it becomes really light and suddenly becomes intense again and suddenly becomes light again. That’s just the play of the dark comedy genre, which allows you to break the structure.

Did that come more from the script or from directing and actually putting it together?

It was all written. It was written and we just maybe enhanced it on set.

Do you have a favorite moment of where the comedy comes in to punch the drama?

I love the moment where they’re sitting after she’s tied him up and whacked him on the head with a frying pan, and mother and daughter are sitting and having a conversation about what to do next. It starts off by her asking for tea and she’s not happy with the fact that she has only green tea — just basic home things. She starts narrating this story about what their next plan should be and how they should proceed from thereon, and that story is so funny but it’s not really funny if you think about it. The mother is really suggesting that they take a suitcase and they cut him up. I love that scene as a balance of drama because it’s this post-traumatic incident, but it’s funny to us because of how bizarre and whacked out everything sounds.

That mother-daughter relationship is so wonderful and central to the film. How did you in Shefali Shah develop and land on that?

Something just clicked when we were on set, but most of it was in the writing. When I finished reading the script, I was like “‘Darlings’ is a mother-daughter story.” The backdrop is domestic violence, there’s a powerful message for women and for people who are maybe suffering from the same situation that the protagonist is, but at the end of it, you really are left with these two people and their beautiful relationship and the evolution of their relationship. Even the revelation at the end of the movie of the mother is so poignant, so layered.

Tell me more about the script and how it stood out from others you’ve read.

When I heard the narration [of the script], I actually did not have the time to take on a new film. My dates were planned out for like two years, but I’m somebody who believes that you never know what comes your way and you never know what window opens up, and that’s exactly what happened. I heard the narration and I was like, “Oh my god, this is so unique and I have to do it.” The script was all there. The broad strokes were so unique that we really went into the depths and the details and enhanced it whilst we were locked up at home. That was a good time for us to go deep into working on the script, and we did that.

Even with your more commercial films, I feel like you choose very unique projects. What do you look for or tell your team to seek out?

It’s something that I have to do by myself and discover by myself and nobody else can get that for me. What I look for is is impactful, unique characters that allow me to be another person, [different] from myself and from the characters that I’ve played in the past. But the songs and the dance and the musical part of Hindi films is something that will never leave Hindi films and should never leave because that’s literally the reason why we have been such a global force: Because of the music and because of that nostalgia that you feel when you hear a song.

That is very important to me, but it’s not just for the heck of it now. It’s not like you just put in a song there because we need a song. There has to be a reason for it. But it’s a celebration of the movies that we make and I feel quite thrilled when films like that come my way. I love shooting songs. Whenever I don’t shoot a song for a long time, I really miss it.

And then after you shoot a song are you like, “Okay let’s take a break?”

No! It’s so rewarding.

You’ve shown such range as an actor, so what does the future look like for you?

I wanna do an out-and-out comedy. I’ve done a dark comedy which is like 60 percent dark 40 percent comedy I want to do like a 90 percent comedy 10 percent emotion sort of movie, just like an out-and-out laughter riot.

Obviously this film has its serious side, addressing domestic violence.

It’s extremely disturbing, shattering, unfortunate, necessary, all the words that come to your mind when you read stories like this. Millions of them happen even now in our country, and it just makes me really sad because it makes me feel like there’s an attitude that’s set in that this is something that happens in every marriage, “Oh, it happens with everybody.” But then it gets to [a] really, really disturbing point and why let it get to that? There’s also certain fear and taboo or stigma attached to people being alone, or people not being in a marriage or not being in relationship or not being divorced. That should not happen, not anymore.

It’s too much pressure; it’s a societal structure that has been created. If you’re in a happy union with somebody then of course celebrate it, have fun, live a great life — but if you’re not, then you’d rather be alone than in such a troubled dynamic. We need to keep having that conversation. Cinema is one of the best mediums to [state] a point and reach out to people, and touch a chord with them emotionally and mentally.

I think it’s so critical that Badru is middle class — there’s a line her mother has about not being on Twitter. How do you think that helps people access the film and understand it better?

They relate to it, right? If you say something and you’re making that distinction: Maybe I’m not on Twitter and Instagram, and I have a lot of real problems and real issues going on — we can’t be debating whether this is right or wrong on Twitter, on Instagram, I’m actually dealing with it. It’s not as easy for the people who are actually dealing with it because they don’t have the luxury to sit and talk about it on Twitter.

And at the same time, how do you think it can be viewed by people who are very much in that sphere, who are more upperclass or online?

They would possibly just enjoy that these are women who are maybe coming from a certain middle class or lower middle class background, but they’re taking matters into their own hands and really reaching a point of great discovery. It’s an interesting play of what’s right and wrong and black and white, and actually everybody’s really grey. But a lot of times, in the most educated homes and in the most fine, rich homes, you would be surprised at the level of regressive thinking and patriarchal handling of situations like this, where the reputation in society matters way more than what you’re actually going through. You may think that upper-middle class or super rich households will never have this issue, but you’d be surprised.

Alia Bhatt and Vijay Varma in “Darlings”

bBhavyanshu Singh/Netflix

Badru is such an interesting character with so many shades, how would you describe her?

I think of Badru an eternal optimist. She’s someone who really believes that the worst people can change and that the best people are actually the best but they just don’t know it yet. She’s an eternal optimist. She thinks that a lot of changes [are] possible. But her optimism and her naiveness is actually the one thing that holds her back from doing super bad things and maybe makes her retain her goodness as a person.

I keep thinking about the red dress and the heels. What does that represent to her?

She’s just trying to be desirable to her husband because she wants to make a baby, so she goes out there and she gets this beautiful dress that she calls “frocks.” Again, she’s so sure that her solutions are the solutions and that it will definitely be worth it this time, and it’s definitely going to make a big difference this time. She’s always met with disappointment, and she still takes it in her stride. That’s quite heartbreaking.

The film does such a good job of capturing the cycle of abuse — the ups and downs and repetition. How is it to depict that, both to sit in it and not make the film repetitive?

The thing is, the repetitive nature is needed so that you can finally feel relief when there is a shift in the dynamic. The relief will only come if it feels a bit like, “Once again? Are you serious?” That is important, so in a sense it’s good that there is a certain exhaustion that sets in with the repetitive nature of her being stuck in a loop.

It’s interesting watching through the eyes of the parlor aunty downstairs.

She’s used as a device to cut away from the violence, and then she [becomes] a perspective. I love that moment where actually he’s the one at the receiving end of the torture and she still is assuming that it’s the woman. It’s subtle commentary on how you don’t expect it to be the other way around. I love how she [shows up] in the end, and even though she’s seen what happens she doesn’t say anything because she’s like, “I’ve got you. I know.”

I have to ask about Hamza, who the film never makes into a cartoon villain. He feels very real. How was it bringing that to life with Vijay?

That’s a total Vijay and Jasmeet dynamic. They worked at it really hard, they prepped how they would make the character not come across as a cliche drunken husband. They needed to make it natural and believable and real.

“Darlings” is now streaming on Netflix.

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Bollywood star and first-time producer Alia Bhatt

Abbott Elementary Leads TCA Awards – The Hollywood Reporter

Quinta Brunson’s beloved ABC comedy Abbott Elementary led all the winners Saturday at the 38th annual Television Critics Association’s Awards, taking home four awards including the prestigious program of the year prize.

The awards, announced virtually after the semi-annual press tour was shifted in response to rising COVID-19 cases in Southern California, were selected by the group’s membership of more than 200 TV journalists across the U.S. and Canada.

Abbott Elementary earned wins for Brunson (individual achievement in comedy), new program, achievement in comedy and program of the year. The comedy, which earned a supersized second-season renewal, was the only show to earn multiple wins this year. The series went into the awards with a leading five nominations, with co-star Janelle James losing out to Brunson for the individual comedy prize.

Before the TCA’s shift to a virtual press tour, Abbott Elementary stars James, Lisa Ann Walter and Sheryl Lee Ralph were poised to host the in-person ceremony.

Other winners include This Is Us star Mandy Moore for individual achievement in drama following her surprising snub at the Emmys; HBO’s Succession for achievement in drama and Hulu’s Dopesick as best miniseries.

“Tonight was supposed to be our first time celebrating the TCA Awards in-person since 2019 — unfortunately, it was not meant to be,” said Melanie McFarland, TCA president and TV critic for Salon. “Despite this development, we are proud to announce this year’s roster of talented TCA Award winners. Each of them played a vital role in making the 2021-2022 television season one of the best in recent memory. We sincerely congratulate all of our honorees, and we look forward to gathering in person once again in 2023.”

The TCA also bestowed its Heritage Award to CBS’ I Love Lucy, with Ted Danson and Steve Martin both recognized with career achievement honors.

A full list of winners follows.

Individual Achievement In Drama: Mandy Moore (THIS IS US, NBC)
Individual Achievement In Comedy: Quinta Brunson (ABBOTT ELEMENTARY, ABC)
Outstanding Achievement In News and Information: THE BEATLES: GET BACK (Disney+)
Outstanding Achievement In Reality Programming: TIE: THE AMAZING RACE (CBS), LEGENDARY (HBO Max)
Outstanding Achievement In Youth Programming: THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB (Netflix)
Outstanding Achievement In Variety, Talk Or Sketch: I THINK YOU SHOULD LEAVE WITH TIM ROBINSON (Netflix)
Outstanding New Program: ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (ABC)
Outstanding Achievement In Movies, Miniseries, Or Specials: DOPESICK (Hulu)
Outstanding Achievement In Drama: SUCCESSION (HBO)
Outstanding Achievement In Comedy: ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (ABC)
Program of the Year: ABBOTT ELEMENTARY (ABC)
Career Achievement Honoree: TIE: Ted Danson & Steve Martin
Heritage Award: I LOVE LUCY (CBS)

Quinta Brunson’s beloved ABC comedy Abbott Elementary

Amber Midthunder Has a New Action Hero for You

It was the day a grand showdown fight in “Prey” was to be shot, and Amber Midthunder felt awful.

She was ill, and she had lost her voice. The sequence involved the movie’s most physically intensive action, requiring fine-tuned choreography and a rousing finish. And you generally want to be at your best when facing an intergalactic nemesis who has journeyed to Earth to hunt people for sport.

“I really wanted to do it! So I just didn’t talk to anybody all day long,” Midthunder said. “And then we were like, ‘We’ll just try it and see what happens.’”

The steely nerves paid off. On Friday, “Prey,” directed by Dan Trachtenberg, premieres on Hulu with a novel rethink of the “Predator” action series that is set in the early 18th century and doubles as a coming-of-age adventure. Midthunder plays Naru, a young Comanche woman who must prove herself to a tribe that underestimates her.

But there’s no underestimating the 25-year-old actor who is taking on the kind of starring role that isn’t always attainable in Hollywood. As a member of the Fort Peck Sioux tribe, she is the rare Native American female action lead, headlining a franchise that originally rested on the pumped shoulders of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Performing death-defying leaps, flinging axes with precision and delivering well-timed one-liners, Midthunder meets most definitions of “action hero.”

Not that she feels that way, yet.

“I just feel like an Amber,” she said good-naturedly in an interview last week at a Midtown Manhattan hotel. Even so, the actor — a bright and poised presence in a sunny vermilion dress — acknowledged that “Prey” joins an action-friendly résumé.

Midthunder broke through with her role on “Legion” (2017-19), the hallucinogenic “X-Men” TV spinoff starring Dan Stevens, Jean Smart and Aubrey Plaza. Midthunder’s character shared a body with a scientist played by Bill Irwin. Far from being discombobulating, her experience on the show “solidified” her as an actor, she said, along with a small but inspiring role in the 2016 Texas heist drama “Hell or High Water.” These experiences galvanized her after an earlier stint on a Nickelodeon-style series didn’t suit her. (Though she didn’t mention the title, it sounded a bit like “The Misadventures of Psyche & Me.”)

Her film and television work seems like a triathlete’s preparation for the challenges of “Prey.” She was a regular on the science-fiction series “Roswell, New Mexico” and played a fearless truck driver opposite Liam Neeson in “The Ice Road,” a Netflix thriller about long-hauling on thin ice. She also starred in and co-produced a bruising indie four-hander about two couples, “The Wheel.”

The reviews from her colleagues suggest an already seasoned performer. Irwin, an evident fan, wrote in an email to the Times that their dual role was “the easiest collaboration I think I’ve ever been a part of.” Neeson sent along a concise but definite thumbs-up: “An excellent young actress with a certain energy that stands out.”

Midthunder’s career began with strong family foundations. Her father, David Midthunder, is a fixture onscreen (“Westworld,” “Dark Winds”). She remembers visiting him on the set of productions like “Comanche Moon,” a prequel to “Lonesome Dove.” He met her mother — the casting director and former actress Angelique Midthunder, who was from Thailand — while they were acting in the same movie.

Born on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico, Amber Midthunder grew up mostly in Santa Fe with stints in California and Florida. She remembers hanging out after school at her mother’s office and, from her comfortable perch, watching actors come and go.

“I had a Disney princess tent with an air mattress in the bottom for my eighth birthday,” she recalled. “I was supposed to be doing my homework, but I’d pop my head up and give opinions.”

Midthunder’s father tried to give some perspective on the barrage of images of Native Americans presented by mainstream culture. An enrolled member of the Fort Peck Sioux, he spent much of his childhood on the reservation. His own father worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, helping tribe members with paperwork.

“My dad was very intentional in showing me how, from way back, Native people have been shown in media,” she said.

“Prey” features a largely Native American cast — including an impressive first-timer, Dakota Beavers, as Naru’s brother — and a producer, Jhane Myers, who is Comanche and Blackfeet and advised the production extensively. These efforts at representation and authenticity hit home for Midthunder.

“Oftentimes in period pieces we’re boiled down to a hyperspiritualized figure or this violent savage caricature,” she said. “It affects you when you hardly ever see anybody who looks like you or represents you. That does something to your psyche, where you wonder, like, ‘Oh, are we just not good enough? Or is that really how people see us?’”

“Prey” is one of a number of recent productions that prominently feature Native American actors, most notably the critically acclaimed show “Reservation Dogs.”

“It’s a richer, more diverse scene for Indigenous performers,” said Joanna Hearne, a professor at the University of Oklahoma specializing in Native American and global Indigenous film and media studies. “What we’re seeing, along with a surge in Indigenous performers on television, is more opportunities for these kinds of roles in studio genre films, too.” She views Midthunder’s starring role in a studio film as a rare thing.

Still, said the performer Zahn McClarnon, who is of Lakota and Irish descent, “We’re getting more opportunities as Native actors and actresses now than we did before.” The star of the AMC limited series “Dark Winds” who also appeared on “Reservation Dogs,” McClarnon noted that “a lot of big networks and production companies and movie studios wouldn’t take the risk on hiring a lead actor.”

(The original “Predator” casting bears out the longtime Hollywood dynamic of lead-supporting actor: Sonny Landham, a Seminole and Cherokee actor, played one of the ill-fated elite squad members led by the indomitable Schwarzenegger.)

Besides Midthunder’s starring role, “Prey” is notable for its use of language. The movie will be streamable not just in its original English, with some Comanche and French, but also in an all-Comanche version, dubbed by the cast members. (The French is spoken by a band of grungy trappers who figure prominently, and brutally, in the plot.)

But even before “Prey” premieres, Midthunder’s career momentum shows no signs of stopping: She has reportedly been cast in “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” a live-action series on Netflix. Asked if there was anything she could say about the series, Midthunder chuckled and said: “Nothing that I can be talking about right now.”

She saw parallels between her aspiring warrior in “Prey” and her own rise as a star. (“The metaphors are endless!”) But if she felt any pressure at all, she kept a cool head.

“I tried not to think about all that,” she said. “When you get there and you’re doing the work, you know, everything just goes away.”

It was the day a grand showdown

The Tolkien estate allegedly rejected bringing Peter Jackson into Amazon’s LOTR show

Hobbit drama news alert: Peter Jackson says he got some decidedly mixed messages about potential involvement in Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings show, The Rings Of Power, over the last few years. This is per THR, which reports on a recent podcast conversation it had with the Lord Of The Rings filmmaker, in which he revealed that Amazon had originally reached out to him about potentially getting involved in its massively expensive adaptation of the Tolkien canon—and then ghosted him.

Jackson: “They asked me if I wanted to be involved—[writer-producer Fran Walsh] and I—and I said, ‘That’s an impossible question to answer without seeing a script. So they said, ‘As soon as we get the first couple scripts, we’ll send them to you.’ And the scripts never showed up. That’s the last thing I heard.” To be clear, Jackson—who expressed his enjoyment at the idea of approaching the show as a “totally neutral viewer”—didn’t sound upset about how it all shook out: “Which is fine. No complaints at all.”

What’s most interesting here, though, is how this about-face seems to have happened on Amazon’s side: When reached for comment by THR, the company gave a statement that “in pursuing the rights for our show, we were obligated to keep the series distinct and separate from the films.” (Warner Bros. owns the rights to the Jackson movies, so Amazon can’t use any elements that originated in them.) They added that “We have the utmost respect for Peter Jackson and The Lord of The Rings films and are thrilled that he is looking forward to watching The Rings of Power.”

But THR also quotes “sources close to the project” that paint a messier story, noting that series showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, and former Amazon executive Sharon Tal Yguado (who left the company in 2019) were both interested in luring Jackson into some level of collaboration. Opposed to the idea, apparently, were Amazon’s lawyers (for the aforementioned reasons). But also the Tolkien estate, whose chief representative, J.R.R. Tolkien’s son and literary executor, Christopher Tolkien, has been vocal in the past about his distaste for Jackson’s films. (“The commercialization has reduced the aesthetic and philosophical impact of the creation to nothing,” Tolkien said in an interview in 2012.) Amazon paid the estate some $250 million for the rights for its series—and also, of course, for the sheen of legitimacy their support of Rings Of Power would confer. So when they were “against having Jackson on board,” according to these same unnamed sources, it’s not hard to see that being a fairly decisive vote that put the kibosh on plans to try to bring Jackson into the fold.

Amazon’s The Rings Of Power debuts on September 2.

Peter JacksonPhoto: Hagen Hopkins (Getty Images)Hobbit drama

‘Black Bird’ Star Paul Walter Hauser Explains How He Pieced Together His Chilling Performance as a Serial Killer

(Warning: This “Black Bird” post features spoilers for the show’s finale.)

Audiences and critics have been hooked on the Apple TV+ series “Black Bird,” which wraps its limited run this Friday on the streamer.

Across its first five episodes, the six-episode series has been driven by suspense and an increasingly heightened intensity as Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton), a convicted drug supplier, attempts to lessen his jail term by befriending and eliciting a confession from Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser), a suspected serial killer just days away from getting out on a technicality.

In the finale, Hauser gave a chilling performance as Larry, as he finally confessed to Jimmy he’d committed nearly two dozen murders. For once, Jimmy couldn’t hold back his real feelings in front of Larry, telling him he was sick and would lose his appeal, prompting a ferocious outburst from the disturbed man who thought Jimmy a friend.

With all “Black Bird” episodes now available to stream on Apple TV+, Hauser took a short break away from weekend work to tell TheWrap about taking on the challenging and disturbing character, working with showrunner and writer Dennis Lehane on the piece (which is inspired by Keene’s real story), and forming a close bond on set with Egerton, whom he would happily work with again.

“Oh, I love him,” Hauser said. “I would jump at the chance to work with him. Like, if he were the next James Bond, and I was, like, a Bond villain, nothing would make me happier than something like that.”

TheWrap: Let’s talk about Episode 5 a little bit. What was the mood like on set? Because obviously that’s a pretty heavy episode for both you and Taron to do.

Paul Walter Hauser: I think there was a lot of commonsensical reactionary behavior from the crew. People weren’t as chatty. People weren’t showing each other tweets, or memes. It was very much everyone in their place, as few people as possible and everyone was quiet and respectful, which as the actor[s] having to do all the stuff, me and Taron really appreciated.

All I can say is that I did a movie called “BlacKkKlansmen,” where I play a racist idiot, and there was a day where me and Adam Driver and Topher Grace, all these guys, we [had] to watch the movie “Birth of a Nation” and cheer for it and say really disgusting things. And when that day was done, we all felt, I think, physically ill. Not like, “Oh, I’ve got to take a shower.” More like, “I think I’m going to throw up.” And the day we shot that scene in Episode 5 at the end, that was a sort of day where I felt physically ill.

Because you have a lot of dialogue that is uninterrupted in that episode, did it feel like a theater production in some ways?

Yeah, I mean, they really wanted it to be a “one-er.” They wanted to get it in a single shot. And I thought: Wow, how effective if we could do that. It’s like the audience is having to sit with Taron Egerton and feel how he feels watching me do my thing. So yeah, I thought it was a great shot. But doing it, you know, having to time it out properly – just keep in mind while I’m acting with Taron, out of the peripheral of my left eye, I’m forced to know where the camera is to make sure I stick the landing…. That was a challenge, for sure.

I talked to Dennis at the start of the season, and he mentioned Taron was one of the folks that really fought for you to get this role. And for me, that prompted the question of why you wanted to do the role they fought really hard for you to get. You’re playing a serial killer. What made you want to tackle that challenge?

I’m trying to think of the best way to say this, because I know what you mean, there’s a weird connotation: Why would you do a character like this?

I mean, you can be the most light hearted person in the world, but you’re going to have to think about some very horrible things and commit the lines to memory to do this.

I just looked at all my favorite actors, and I fall in line with them. So Peter Sarsgaard “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Lovelace.” Sam Rockwell in “Three Billboards” and “Green Mile.” Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” and “99 Homes.” These are my guys, these are my Brandos, De Niros, Pacinos, Sidney Poitiers. So I kind of follow the playbook of not being afraid of doing something grisly and awful.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t have limits. There are things I wouldn’t do on camera. But if it’s me just recounting something grisly and disgusting for the sake of a narrative that’s thoughtfully dramatic…. I think it’s worth my time and worth my talent. Going into it, though, you’ve just got to commit to anything you’re doing. Good acting is really just, you’ve got to convince yourself and commit and not be afraid to go there. Because if you half step in or you half ass it, audiences are way too smart. They’re going to see it and then they’re going to rip you apart.

‘Black Bird’ Review: Apple TV+ Crime Drama Evokes the Best of the Genre

There’s been plenty said about Larry’s voice. I’m less interested in the voice and more interested in essentially the focus that Larry has in your scenes, and how he kind of disappears at certain points in time. How did you calibrate that?

Some of those moments where Larry spaces out, that’s all in Dennis’ writing. He wanted those moments of mental detachment; he sculpted those. And then, how to play that, it’s tricky. I think while playing Larry, a lot of what I’m doing is just what I would refer to as “gainful disposition” or “selfish disposition.” You’re not really moving to the flow of social traffic; you’re in your own world the entire time. When you’re in your own world the entire time, similar to Kathy Bates in “Misery,” you’re sort of in your own flow state, and you’re really unencumbered by the things around you, for the most part. Sometimes, when I was playing Larry, I would react to something because I thought: Oh, people would think I should react. Not because I’m actually bothered or surprised or interested. So you’re constantly kind of performing in line within the guy. That’s that selfish disposition.

How far down the wormhole did you go into Google while researching this character?

It was like 15% research, 85% Dennis’ scripts. There’s no video footage of the guy that I was given. I didn’t bother to go meet him in the prison in the Carolinas or wherever he is. It was very much Dennis’ brilliant writing and my warped creativity.

I would love to hear a little bit about what your relationship was like with Taron when you two were on set, actor to actor.

Everybody’s different. I’m very bro-y with men and women that I work opposite. I immediately try to make them my sibling. So, with Taron, it was like, “Let’s go have some cocktails. Let’s play each other our favorite songs off of music streaming apps. Let’s go to the gym and workout together and then grab a sandwich and go see a movie in the theater.” It was a lot of immediate socializing early on. And then as we got into the work, we were just so tired. We barely saw each other off set because we were just in go mode all the time, especially Taron. He had to keep up that physicality.

Taron had the lion’s share of physical work there, so he was exhausted, too. That was off set. On set, we tried to be overly communicative and kind and loving toward each other. And I always defer to him, you know? I always looked at him as No. 1, and I was No. 2. That’s just how I treated him on set. I deferred to him in every sense. And part of that’s him being a producer. I tried to honor the fact that this guy’s producing the show, too. I need to show him the respect he’s earned.

“Black Bird” is streaming now on Apple TV+.

(Warning: This “Black Bird” post features spoilers

New York House candidate accuses Hulu of censoring campaign ad

Suraj Patel — a Democratic congressional candidate in New York — is accusing Hulu of requiring his campaign to remove language related to abortion, climate change, and gun laws from a campaign ad before it would be allowed to air on the platform, as first reported by Jezebel on Wednesday.

According to Patel, a Hulu representative called his campaign notifying them that the 30-second ad violated an “unwritten Hulu policy” related to “sensitive” content in political ads shortly after it was submitted to the platform on June 30th.

“Hulu demanded we remove footage of Jan. 6 and the word ‘climate change’ from our ad as they were deemed ‘sensitive,’” Patel said on Twitter Wednesday. “How are the two of the biggest issues facing our country – our Democracy itself and the planet ‘too sensitive to talk about?’”

Hulu did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Verge on Wednesday.

Jezebel reported that Patel sent a letter to Hulu and Disney CEOs Joe Earley and Bob Chapek on Tuesday demanding that the companies overturn the reported policy. In the letter, Patel argues that streaming platforms like Hulu are vital avenues for progressive candidates to reach young voters.

“As this is your national policy, there are national implications here,” Patel told the CEOs. “Messaging that is out of touch with the times fails them which is why those voters are typically so sporadic – politicians fail to speak to them about issues that matter to them on mediums they watch and consume.”

Patel is running to unseat incumbent Reps. Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, representing Manhattan’s 12th District. Both Democrats have been in office for nearly 30 years, but they were recently redrawn into the same district. In New York’s 2022 Democratic primary, the two long-serving Democrats will face off against each other and insurgents like Patel.

Throughout the 2020 election cycle, social media platforms like Facebook and Google repeatedly changed their policies on political ads, adjusting to new moderation challenges posed by campaigns. In 2019, Twitter banned all political ads on its platform.

Speaking with Jezebel, a Patel campaign source said the Hulu representative explained that there was “a five-second limit or something like that on how long you can stay on sensitive issues.”

To appease Hulu, Patel’s campaign replaced the ad’s mention of “climate change” with “democracy” and replaced footage of the January 6th riots at the Capitol with images of protesters holding QAnon signs. That version of the ad was sent to Hulu on July 1st and approved on July 5th.

Suraj Patel — a Democratic

Awards

Michelle Yeoh to Receive AFI Honorary Doctorate (Exclusive) – The Hollywood Reporter

Michelle Yeoh, the veteran Malaysian actress who is currently generating Oscar buzz for her performance in this spring’s breakout A24 hit Everything Everywhere All at Once, will be conferred with a Doctorate of Fine Arts by the American Film Institute “for contributions of distinction to the art of the moving image,” The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The presentation of that honor to Yeoh, as well as a Doctorate of Communication Arts to AFI Trustee Emeritus Lawrence Herbert — the inventor of a variety of color systems who joined the AFI Board of Trustees in 1987 and served until 2017, and who made possible the 2020 establishment of the Lawrence Herbert Alumni Center on the AFI campus — will take place during the AFI Conservatory’s commencement ceremony celebrating the Class of 2022 on Saturday, August 13, 2022, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

“Michelle Yeoh and Lawrence Herbert have inspired the world with their remarkable talents,” Bob Gazzale, AFI’s president and CEO, tells THR. “Though both of these trailblazers have proven impact in vastly different ways, it is their shared dedication to the art of the moving image that provides this proud moment for AFI to shine a proper light upon their gifts given us.”

This is the first of what will be likely many laurels bestowed upon Yeoh over the coming months, as the actress is basking in career-best reviews for her work in the mind-bending Everything Everywhere All at Once. Her more than 70 prior screen credits including the films Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Memoirs of a Geisha, the Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, Sunshine, Crazy Rich Asians, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Past recipients of AFI honorary degrees include Robert Altman, Maya Angelou, Saul Bass, Angela Bassett, Kathryn Bigelow, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Anne V. Coates, Clint Eastwood, Roger Ebert, Nora Ephron, Jodie Foster, Lesli Linka Glatter, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Kasdan, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Angela Lansbury, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Paul Schrader, Quentin Tarantino, Lily Tomlin, Robert Towne, Cicely Tyson, Haskell Wexler and John Williams.

Michelle Yeoh, the veteran Malaysian actress who

jamaica anniversary songs history reggae

Jamaica’s Musical Legacy in 60 Songs, From Bob Marley to Popcaan

In the 60 years since Jamaica achieved its independence from England, on Aug. 6, 1962, the tiny Caribbean nation has created some of the world’s most influential musical styles, including ska, rock steady, reggae, dub, and dancehall. Likewise, over the past 60 years, Jamaican artists have distilled inspirations from various parts of the world into distinctive sounds that, when coupled with the island’s astonishingly prolific recorded output, has made “the land of wood and water,” as its first inhabitants, the Arawak Indians called it, one of the most significant musical destinations in the world.

To celebrate Jamaica’s Diamond Jubilee, we’ve compiled a list of 60 songs, one song per year, to tell the story of the island’s musical evolution. Some tracks were chosen because they heralded a new direction in sound, others sparked a movement, some engendered controversy, marked a turning point in an artist’s career, or had a significant impact at the time of their release.

Because Jamaica has been blessed with an abundance of extraordinary musical talent, the list features just one entry per artist. However, those who are recognized for a solo effort may also be listed for recordings they made as part of a group or in collaboration with another performer. Because there were just too many records to choose from for any given year, some important releases may not appear on the list. But that’s just a reminder of how amazingly rich this history is.

In the 60 years since Jamaica achieved

Remembering Mable Haddock: Fierce Advocate, Unforgettable Leader, Guardian of Collective Legacy

By Bedatri D. Choudhury AND Tom White

Mable Haddock, the founding president and first CEO of the National Black Programming Consortium—now Black Public Media—passed away on July 23. By all accounts, she was a fighter, not just for filmmakers of color to tell their stories, but also for public media to look like the country it aimed to serve. As we mourn the passing of this trailblazer, we also bask in her legacy—at once humbled and proud.

Mable received awards from the Black Women’s Preservation Project, three CEBA Awards, the Leo Award from the Flaherty International Film Seminars, a New York Women in Film Award, a Trailblazer Award from Blackfilm.com, and a leadership award from NAMAC. But her biggest legacy remains the large body of work by filmmakers of color that she nurtured, mentored and inspired.

The following tributes from friends and colleagues bear witness to the dazzling legacy of this amazing woman.

—

Mable was a fierce advocate and defender of Black film and Black filmmakers. She was of slight build but had a larger-than-life presence. She had a powerful voice in the world of independent film. She once told me that her role as the head of Black Public Media was to fight for Black stories and Black storytellers—and that’s exactly what Mable did. She fought for us Black storytellers, and ensured that we had the resources, support, and a safe haven to create and tell our stories. To this day, whenever I am invited to be a panelist to help funders decide which films and filmmakers to fund, I carry Mable’s spirit into the room with me. I fight for other Black filmmakers who are deserving of funding and other support because Mable taught me that Black creatives who are in positions of influence and power ought to do so. She also taught me that we should take a hard stance against funders funding filmmakers who should NOT be telling our stories. I owe that mentality and sense of responsibility to Mable Haddock. She supported me, nurtured me, gave me tough love, held me accountable, showed me the way, and passed the torch. She was fearless.

May Mable Haddock rest well.

Regi Allen
Editor, Producer

I remember the day Mable Haddock walked into the WOSU-TV conference room in Columbus, Ohio to be interviewed for the position of executive director of the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC). She was greeted by an unlikely team of Black public television producers who had founded the newly CPB-funded media organization—Rojene Bailey, Ruth Batton Campbell, Edwin Clay, Donald Marbury, Christopher Moore, and me. Mable brought experience in arts administration and grant-making, plus a gleam in her eye that only hinted at the fierce determination that was at the core of her character. Selecting her to realize our vision of building and sustaining an organization that would develop, foster, distribute and promote programming “that stemmed from and was reflective of the Black experience” was the best decision we ever made. Mable took the helm of NBPC in 1980, quickly establishing distribution streams for Black programming and, within a year, convened nearly a hundred filmmakers, media professionals, programmers, and thought leaders from across the world at NBPC’s Inaugural Annual Meeting in 1981.

Under Mable’s leadership, NBPC became the first American institution to center the work of Black independent creators, while continuing its support of public television station-based initiatives. Despite public television pushback, Mable insisted and found ways to celebrate and introduce audiences to the work of filmmakers from Africa and throughout the African diaspora.

With early staff members Shirley Bowen and Jacqueline Tshaka, she established the annual Prized Pieces Awards, providing a national forum to honor creators whose work had far too often been ignored. It was Mable Haddock who solidified a collaboration with The National Urban League that resulted in the first PBS prime-time public affairs town hall, The State of Black America 1984, co-presented by NBPC and Detroit Public Television. The program would mark a new beginning for the visibility of a long lineage of significant stories and projects that received NBPC support at a time when they needed it most.

Mable Haddock was a true force with unflinching candor, a wicked sense of humor and a nurturing soul. She was the force that sustained the organization through four years of defunding by CPB. No obstacle would deter her, as she forged networks across the national and international media landscape with people and organizations committed to a diverse and equitable ecosystem. She was the force that shepherded the organization’s move from Columbus to Harlem, paving the way for the future of what Black Public Media would become. Although health issues prompted her retirement from the inaugural executive director post after 25 years, she remained the guiding light of the organization and would continue her work in cultivating and engaging audiences. I know that Mable Haddock’s legacy will endure—through the family and extended family she nurtured, through the stewards and friends of Black Public Media, and through the lives and work of the many media creators, she has mentored and supported.

Juanita Anderson
Co-Founder, National Black Programming Consortium (now Black Public Media)
Area Head, Media Arts and Studies, Department of Communication, Wayne State University

Mable Haddock was sharp as a tack, witty, fierce and exactly who you wanted in your corner when the chips were down. I met Mable during her tenure as director of the National Black Programming Consortium, and our work intersected at Firelight Media, where she was a generous and enthusiastic collaborator. Despite navigating health challenges, or perhaps because of them, she brought a sense of moral clarity and urgency to her work that inspired and motivated me to do the same. She was not only a champion of filmmakers, but of women of color in the field, who she worked hard to encourage and connect. Many of us would not be where we are without Mable’s hand guiding us, or her voice advocating for us behind the scenes. That, in my mind, is her greatest legacy. She was a towering figure in our field, a tree whose roots ran deep and whose impact will be felt for generations. May she rise in power.

Sonya Childress
Co-Director, Color Congress

Until I was hired at National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC) in 2001, the primary Black female influences in my life were from my family: my mother, Pauline; her two sisters; my paternal grandmother; my great aunt; my big sister; and my female cousins. I was surrounded by a bevy of smart, beautiful and loving Black women. But none of them were connected to my professional work as an arts administrator. Then I met Mable Haddock.

I first met Mable in 1996, during a business trip to Columbus, Ohio, where NBPC was based. Five years later, I was ending a contract job and interviewing at various organizations, including NBPC. Luckily, I advanced to an interview with Mable. A few days after that interview, I was offered and accepted the job. Mable Haddock was the first Black woman I’d ever worked for. And, as a Black woman, having the privilege to be mentored by someone like Mable—one of the smartest and boldest women in the documentary field at that time—was like hitting the jackpot.

Mable exemplified what it meant to be authentically Black and female in a professional space. She wasn’t afraid to speak truth to power, both verbally and in her writings. She was kind and forgiving, but could be a little salty if rubbed the wrong way. She always reminded me to not “take things personally” in this business. She encouraged me to take risks, but to make sure I did the proper advance preparation. She knew how to relax after working hard to reach a specific goal. Her stories either made you laugh ’til your belly ached, or made you want to grab a pad to take notes. For me, she was an invaluable mentor and I am deeply committed to carrying her legacy of leadership and mentorship forward.

Mable Haddock, rest in power, my dear friend, as you join the ancestors: Jacquie Jones, Christian Ugbode, Michelle Materre, and Leanne Ferrer.

Leslie Fields Cruz
Executive Director, Black Public Media

I met Mable almost 40 years ago when I began to attend meetings for public media and saw what leadership looked like when she spoke. She was brilliant and fierce and called out foolishness before anyone else. All I knew then was I did not want to be part of the conspiracy of silence. Speaking truth, that was Mable before anyone else. She shone bright the path of promise for all of us.

Sally Jo Fifer
CEO, ITVS

Mable is responsible for funding several of my early films, including I AM A MAN: Black Masculinity in America, Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, Barack & Curtis, and Soul Food Junkies. In fact, Mable gave me my first big grant to finish I AM A MAN.

I had the privilege to be in her inner circle. She was a mentor, godmother, sister, and friend. I can’t even begin to tell how her impact changed so many of us, just that she came with the truth and support that only a woman touched by god and the ancestors could bring. She was amazing at a party. Prized Pieces changed my life. We’ll be forever grateful for what you created in Ohio. National Black Programming Consortium for life, my love. Godspeed. I’ll see you later.

Byron Hurt
Filmmaker

Mable Haddock was a risk-taker; she saw the potential in filmmakers even when they might not have seen it in themselves.

In a field that can be challenging, Mable was a beacon of light to filmmakers of color. Hundreds of filmmakers, either directly or indirectly, launched their film careers because Mable believed in them. She was brilliant and honest and had a wicked sense of humor. We were so blessed to have had her in our lives as a mentor, colleague and friend.

Sharon La Cruise
Filmmaker

Mable Haddock was determined to change the look, sound and feel of public media, and she contributed so much to making that happen. She had a vision of a public media where the vitality of young Black people and other much too invisible people of color would dazzle the screens with their brilliance, passions, anger and truths.

When Mable came into public media back in the 1970s, it was much too pastel, too East Coast Ivy League, too British. Mable had a vision of local and national public television reflecting the vibrant world that she grew up in, its warmth, its dynamism, and its often-ignored wisdom. She went to work to change that and did.

In Columbus, Ohio, with the support of the underspoken jazz musician and Black station manager at WOSU, Ed Clay, and others, Mable created the National Black Programming Consortium. She searched nationwide for the many talented young producers and directors making films about African American history, culture and life—people like Julie Dash, Juanita Anderson, Orlando Bagwell and Stanley Nelson, just to name a few. The list of award-winning producers she brought into public media is long, but equally significant is the much longer list of emerging producers who continue to persevere.

Mable invited and welcomed hundreds of producers into the world of public broadcasting. This was no easy feat; she was always up against naysayers at all levels—public TV station managers and national leaders, who thought her meager budget should be cut or eliminated. But Mable fought back and plowed forward with determination, along with her characteristic gestures of a roll of her eyes and a chuckle of amazement. She pushed for support to help create the Independent Television Service (ITVS) and to provide ongoing legislative support for the National Black Programming Consortium, and the other culturally specific groups that now comprise the National Multicultural Alliance. She worked collaboratively to form this alliance, which pooled money and funded ventures such as the PBS series Matters of Race, in 2003. Most importantly, they grew to work together, thanks to Mable’s generous spirit, her skillful negotiations, and her willingness to listen.

In each city where she worked, she paid attention to the community and focused on connecting the life of Black communities to public media. In Columbus, Ohio, she created a community-based competition and festival that brought national media personalities to the city. In Pittsburgh and New York, she helped create events that further threw open the doors of public media.

Mable was focused and hardworking, but she also took the time to listen carefully, to understand, to nurture those seeking to create new works and to build relationships. She reminded us all that there was joy in this. Mable’s grantmaking provided over $6 million to the media community, but her gifts to public media went far beyond money. She inspired the work of the Firelight Media Lab, of which she was a founding director, and which continues her legacy of inspiring new talent. Her contribution to the world of media in the United States and its global connections will go on beyond her life, creating a very special diverse community of media producers that is priceless.

Jennifer Lawson
Former Executive Vice President of National Programming, PBS

While her name had been floating around the NYC Black documentary community for years, I only met the illustrious Ms. Haddock a few years ago. Esteemed colleagues Leslie Fields-Cruz and Denise Greene tapped me to be program manager for the Jacquie Jones Memorial Scholarship Fund, a one-time funding opportunity for documentary filmmakers of color. Named after another superstar champion of all things Black and independent, Mable presided over the final deliberation session where funds would be awarded in Jacquie’s name. While the room was filled with wise and thoughtful funding experts, there was quiet yet universal deference to Mable’s careful and measured input. I was impressed with her presence, wisdom and humor, as well as her respect for the members of the funding panel. Her deepest well of care, however, was reserved for the funding applicants—Mable gave their applications her complete attention, weighing in on the strengths of their projects with her wealth of knowledge and decades of experience as to what makes a film work. She came from a space of deep respect for these content creators, combined with the conviction that these makers had to tell our stories with accuracy and responsibility. Mable was, in fact, a staunch guardian of our collective legacy.

I went on to have some notable encounters with Mable over the last few years, angling to sit next to her during dinners, shared car rides or in BPM events. I treasured her advice and insights into the independent film landscape, specifically the programming space that I was just beginning to navigate, and appreciated her generous listening, support, and advocacy. If there is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women, then there must also be a special place in the great beyond for brilliant and generous sisters who share their wisdom with love and grace. Mable has taken her well-earned seat at that table, and while we will miss her, she left her indelible mark on all of us who were fortunate enough to have known her. With reverence and gratitude, I wish her a peaceful transition.

Karen McMullen
Feature Film Programmer

Mable was a visionary, warm and creative leader. Her impact on the documentary landscape and on public media will be felt for generations. In addition to being grateful in general to have worked in the field while she was in it, I am so appreciative of her support of our work at POV. On a personal level, she was also someone I always enjoyed running into at events over the years. She will be missed.

Justine Nagan
Head of Production, Actual Films
Former Executive Director, American Documentary, Inc/Former POV/America Reframed

Mable Haddock was a soldier in the fight for inclusion in the documentary film industry. In addition to being the founder of Black Public Media, she was the first director of Firelight Media’s Producers Lab, now known as our flagship Documentary Lab, a program that continues to grow and thrive today. She was also a true friend and a constant advocate for my work. She is irreplaceable and she will be missed.

Stanley Nelson
Filmmaker/Co-Founder, Firelight Media and Firelight Films

Mable was one of the visionaries behind the Minority Consortia. Her leadership at Black Public Media, and in fighting to defend diverse participation in public media helped pave the way for the many programs today that are helping our field become more diverse.

Gordon Quinn
Co-Founder/Executive Director, Kartemquin Films

Mable was a fierce champion, supporter and mentor to me and so many of us. She was an independent film and television trailblazer, in every sense of the word. Our industry owes her a tremendous debt of gratitude for her vision, which changed the media landscape, and created transformative possibilities for Black filmmakers and stories. Her role as leader and administrator may overshadow her storytelling prowess, but if you ever got feedback from Mable, it was always insightful, always on point, and pulled no punches. She weathered storms with dignity, clarity and her razor-sharp wit. Praise from Mable was high praise, indeed, and I always felt respected and valued in all of our interactions. Most of all, Mable made me feel “seen.” I never stopped learning from her, and will forever be grateful to and inspired by her.

Sabrina Schmidt Gordon
Filmmaker

The first time I met Mable was at her home in Harlem, with Orlando Bagwell. Soon after, I edited Malcolm X: Make It Plain, which was funded by NBPC. My first impression of her was, What a kind and genuine force of nature! Over the years she has supported the careers of numerous emerging and veteran filmmakers alike. As a Chinese proverb goes, “One generation plants trees, and another gets the shade.” Mable was a visionary woman warrior who planted forests, and her decades of hard work will be felt for generations to come.

Jean Tsien
Filmmaker

Mable was an extraordinary person and a committed activist and advocate whose work over many decades empowered hundreds of Black filmmakers by creating new opportunities for funding and support, including through her visionary work as a founder of Black Public Media (formerly the National Black Programming Consortia).

Mable was among the first people I met when I left Sundance and began working at ITVS. I remember sitting with her at my second PBS Annual Meeting as she described what was (and was not) happening within public media at the time. She wanted accountability and change, and didn’t hold back in her efforts to achieve it. She called me on the carpet when necessary, and from her I got vital lessons about how we needed to transform public media to represent whole communities and populations of people whose stories were not represented. Yet despite all the hurdles (and there were many), Mable could and would laugh. Loud and often.

My heartfelt condolences to her family and friends and to our colleagues and friends at Black Public Media for your and our collective loss. I know Mable’s legacy will continue to inspire us.

Lois Vossen
Executive Producer, Independent Lens

Mable Haddock was a champion in all senses of the word. She was a truth-teller who would tell you when you got it wrong, and let you know if you got it right. She was a fighter who built what is now Black Public Media from the ground up. When the organization held a gala in her honor almost 20 years ago, the highlight reel of artists whose formative work had been supported by her directly or indirectly was staggering—Julie Dash, Thomas Allen Harris, Charles Burnett, Spike Lee, Youruba Richen, Arthur Jaffa and Shola Lynch, to name but a few. Even a boyish Anthony Mackie and a young Denzel flashed by in that reel of early funded work. More recently, Mable laid the bedrock for the incomparable Firelight Producers Lab alongside Stanley Nelson and Marcia Smith. Mable was a visionary. She knew how to get things started and how to get things done.

Mable also knew how to get the party started. She loved good music and loved to laugh. She was a great storyteller who would uncap a bottle, pour you a drink and begin with, “My Daddy used to say,” or “Mamma and them would always,” somehow in the process unlocking the wisdom of the ages while usually making you bust a gut from laughing. Having known Mable and having experienced both her no-nonsense edge as well as her warmth and generosity, I no longer wonder what it might have been like to have known Ida B. Wells or Madam CJ Walker or even Harriet Tubman. I knew Mable, and I will be forever lifted by that.

Noland Walker
Vice President of Content, ITVS

By Bedatri D.

Emergency rooms in northeast Ontario bending but not breaking

Over the July long weekend, more than 20 emergency rooms across the province were forced to close, as a surge in visits clashed with already overburdened and understaffed facilities.

The long weekend closures, which hit southern and rural northwestern hospitals particularly hard, are just the latest alarm bell in an ongoing staffing crisis that has health-care workers calling for assistance.

Late last month, Nickel Belt MPP and NDP health critic France Gelinas criticized the provincial government for allegedly withholding $1.8 billion for health care as part of a mid-year budget cut for 2021-22.

The cuts were revealed in a report released by the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario on July 19, as multiple emergency departments across the province temporarily shut down due to staff shortages.

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During a virtual press conference on Wednesday, Gelinas reiterated her concerns that EDs are struggling to stay afloat.

“People have to wait 38 hours — people who are sick enough to be admitted into our hospital,” she said. “The doctors don’t want them to go back home; they need to be admitted. And they will sit in a waiting room, in our hospital ER for 38 hours before being admitted. That’s like six meals, a sleep, over a day and a half, and you are sick enough to be admitted into our hospital.”

On Thursday, Ontario’s health minister directed regulatory colleges for nurses and doctors to develop plans to more quickly register internationally educated professionals, a move nursing groups and critics say falls short of the premier’s promise to do everything in his power to address an emergency room staffing crisis.

Sylvia Jones sent directives Thursday to the College of Nurses of Ontario and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario directing them to make every effort to register those nurses and doctors “as expeditiously as possible” so they can practice in the province and provide reports in two weeks on how they will accomplish that.

The minister also directed the nursing college to develop supports for the internationally trained nurses — for example, to bring their skills to Ontario standards — to allow them to practice “in a timely way.”

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Hospitals have been under strain in the province in recent weeks, with some emergency rooms forced to close for hours or days at a time due to staff shortages. More temporary closures are expected this weekend in Clinton, Ont., and St. Mary’s, Ont.

Nursing groups, hospital executives, other health-care professionals and advocates have said that burnout after being on the COVID-19 front lines for more than two years and not being properly compensated have caused people to leave the profession in droves.

Cathryn Hoy, president of the Ontario Nurses’ Association, said the system will benefit from more internationally trained nurses, but she wants to see the report from the college before assessing whether this particular directive will help.

As well, she said that the news of the directive alone does not amount to Premier Doug Ford doing everything in his power to address the staffing crisis, as he promised at a news conference Wednesday.

“This still goes hand in hand with Bill 124,” Hoy said, referencing legislation passed in 2019 that capped wage increases for public sector workers at one per cent for three years.

“You’re going to bring all these internationally trained nurses in, which yes is going to help because they’re nurses, but at the end of the day, who is going to support them and orientate them and mentor them, because there are not enough nurses to do the work that we need in Ontario? So we need to get the retired nurses back and the only way you’re going to get that is if you repeal Bill 124.”

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Ford indicated Wednesday that he would not be repealing the wage restraint legislation or increasing a $5,000 retention bonus for nurses. He also noted that the provisions of the legislation expire and won’t apply to the next contract negotiations for nurses.

So far in northeastern Ontario, emergency rooms have avoided any catastrophic incidents. None of the emergency rooms in the region has yet reported any closures.

But with staffing concerns ongoing, the situation remains precarious, and patients are growing increasingly frustrated.

At Health Sciences North, long waits in the emergency department have become a cause for concern for patients who have experienced the issue in the understaffed and overflowing hospital.

In an emailed response to a request for comment, spokesperson Jessica Lopatka said it currently takes most patients almost nine hours between ED triage to a decision to admit or discharge.

In most cases, patients have to wait nearly four hours before being assessed by a physician.

Though the time between triage and admission to an inpatient bed has improved, Lopatka said there has been a minor increase in the time it takes to be assessed by a physician since 2019.

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While HSN’s wait times remain below provincial averages (4.5 hours from triage to physician assessment and 14 hours from triage to admission/discharge decision), staff shortages are still exacerbating the problem.

“HSN has been experiencing significant staffing challenges across our organization particularly over the last two months in acute, emergency and critical care areas,” Lopatka said in a statement, citing retirement rates, people choosing alternative employment options, and a limited number of graduates to recruit as some of the reasons for the shortage.

In June and July, HSN’s ED averaged 205 visitors each day, consistent with numbers seen before the pandemic, with a surge space in place to manage peak patient volumes.

Lopatka said the proportion of patients who are sicker or present with higher complexity cases has gone up.

“Despite these circumstances, HSN has never closed the Emergency Department or come close to doing so,” she said. “At times, it has been necessary to operate at less than the full complement of staff, and we are thankful to all of our healthcare workers who continue to work overtime and take extra shifts to provide the best possible care under these difficult conditions.”

St. Joseph’s General Hospital in Elliot Lake is facing a similar challenge. CEO Jeremy Stevenson outlined those concerns in an article for The Elliot Lake Standard two weeks ago.

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According to Stevenson, the emergency department has narrowly avoided closure on numerous occasions.

“While emergency department closure is something we have yet to experience, we are not immune to the situations other rural hospitals have experienced and continue to prepare for the possibility,” Stevenson wrote. “We are working hard for you every day in an effort to keep our ED open despite the challenges, and we appreciate the ongoing support of our community to stand behind our hospital and our team.”

Short-staffing in the ED has had a ripple effect within the community. Physicians who typically work outside of the hospital have been stepping in to provide the support necessary to keep the facility running. As a result, some patients have had appointments with their doctors in their community offices cancelled.

“Without their willingness to provide this support, there have been many occasions on which our emergency department would have had to close to emergency care,” said Stevenson.

Stevenson wrote that patients only use the ED for true emergencies, and seek alternate non-urgent care from their family physician to prevent unnecessary surges.

At other hospitals across the region, the situation is less clear.

In a response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the Espanola Regional Hospital and Health Centre said it was not taking media requests regarding hospital operations.

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According to its website, the Espanola hospital’s emergency department operates 24 hours a day and services around 15,000 people each year. It also mentions that treatment in the ED may take several hours if the patient needs testing, if the physician needs to consult a specialist, or if a more critical patient comes in.

While staffing information wasn’t provided, a number of job openings are listed on the hospital’s website and social media, including for a part-time emergency and acute care ward clerk. It is also hiring registered nurses and registered practical nurses, as well as personal support workers.

Similarly, the Manitoulin Health Centre, which operates two sites in Little Current and Mindemoya, declined to provide information about its ED.

“We are very proud of our team for their continued dedication to provide quality health care services to the community,” said spokesperson Kelly Timmermans in an emailed response. “We continue to be very busy in the emergency department with our local residents and an influx of seasonal/tourist visitors.”

The MHC is in the process of renovating and expanding the Mindemoya Emergency Department, a project that has experienced significant delays due to pandemic-related supply chain issues. In May, the organization announced that the completion date of the project was being pushed once again, from July to September.

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According to the MHC website, Mindemoya emergency room handles 49 per cent of the 9,500 patients who visit its EDs. In July and August last year, it said ED visits had jumped three per cent. The expansion project will increase the size of the ED by 1,700 square feet and provide more working space for staff, as well as privacy for patients.

— with files from Canadian Press

Over the July long weekend, more than

Livestream, Schedule, Lineup – Deadline

Television content is booming. According to Nielsen’s most recent State of Play report, between February 2021 and February 2022 more than three-quarters of a million TV shows can now be watched on streaming and traditional television platforms. That makes the feat of capturing an Emmy nomination all the more impressive, and each of these nominated programs participating in today’s Deadline’s Contenders Television: The Nominees award season event deserve their accolades.

The livestreamed presentation begins today at 8 a.m. PT.

This year, we have 31 shows from 16 networks and streamers joining us to discuss their creations and what it took to bring them to the screen. Again, Emmy history is being made: Netflix’s Squid Game marks the first non-English-language series to secure a Best Drama nomination. Will it follow in Parasite’s footsteps from the 2020 Oscars and secure a win?

We’ve got multiple panels that really exemplify the breadth of small screen entertainment that’s up for offer this year from musical parody Schmigadoon! to Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, to Jemaine Clement’s vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows to Jean Smart-starrer Hacks.

The Limited Series category is especially exciting. While the competition only has the benefit of five awards in their category, as opposed to eight each in Best Drama and Best Comedy, the quality is clear to see from the nominations. Of that group, HBO’s The White Lotus and Hulu’s Dopesick, The Dropout and Pam & Tommy join us on the stage.

There are, of course, a host of returning series that continue to shine throughout the awards season with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Stranger Things and Ted Lasso all making appearances at this year’s event, while in the Outstanding Variety Talk Series category, we’ve got you covered with nominees like Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

This season also marks the signoff of a number of series, with those earning nominations in their final seasons including AMC’s Better Call Saul, also in this year’s Contenders lineup. It’s always sad to see some of our favorite TV shows say goodbye, but new series have jumped into awards contention, such as Showtime’s Yellowjackets and Apple TV+’s Severance, with new characters and mysteries to unfold in seasons to come.

Lizzo scored her first Emmy nomination this year with her competition reality series Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls. The global superstar, who serves as host and exec producer on the Amazon series, is here to tell you all about the show which sees a group of plus-size dancers battling it out for spots as backup dancers.

So sit back, relax and enjoy yet another wonderful day of our Contenders Television: The Nominees, which you can follow along all day with panel coverage on Deadline.com and on our social channels via #DeadlineContenders. On Monday, we will launch the streaming site curating the full panel videos.

Here’s the full lineup:

DEADLINE’S CONTENDERS TELEVISION: THE NOMINEES

(all times PT; lineup set, but times subject to change)

8 p.m. – Livestream begins

WARNER BROS TELEVISION GROUP/ABC/20TH TELEVISION

8:04 a.m. – Abbott Elementary

Quinta Brunson (Creator/EP/Writer/Actor)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Actor)
Tyler James Williams (Actor)
Janelle James (Actor)

ABC/SONY PICTURES TELEVISION

8:20 a.m. – Live in Front of a Studio Audience

Norman Lear (EP)
Brent Miller (EP)

DISNEY+

8:36 a.m. – The Beatles: Get Back

Peter Jackson (Producer/Director)

AMC

8:54 a.m. – Better Call Saul

Peter Gould (Co-Creator/Showrunner)
Bob Odenkirk (Producer/Actor)
Rhea Seehorn (Actor/Director)

APPLE TV+

9:08 a.m. – Schmigadoon!

Cinco Paul (Creator/Showrunner/EP/Writer/Songwriter)
Bo Welch (Production Designer)
Christopher Willis (Composer)
Christopher Gatelli (Choreographer)

9:26 a.m. – Severance

Ben Stiller (EP/Director)
Dan Erickson (EP/Writer/Creator)
Theodore Shapiro (Composer)
Jeremy Hindle (Production Designer)

9:40 a.m. – Ted Lasso

Hannah Waddingham (Actor)
Jane Becker (Writer/Co-EP)
MJ Delaney (Director)

VH1

9:56 a.m. – RuPaul’s Drag Race

Kerri Colby (Queen)
Jasmine Kennedie (Queen)
Mandy Salangsang (Showrunner/EP)
Michele Mills (EP)
Michelle Visave (Senior Producer/Judge)

NETFLIX

10:12 a.m. – Squid Game

Lee Jung-Jae (Actor)
Jung Ho-yeon (Actor)
Haley Jung (Interpreter)

10:27 a.m. – Stranger Things

Matt Duffer (Creator/Writer/Director/EP)
Ross Duffer (Creator/Writer/Director/EP)
Barrie Gower (Prosthetics Designer)

10:50 a.m. – MORNING BREAK

NBC

10:57 a.m. – Late Night With Seth Meyers

Seth Meyers (Host)

SHOWTIME

11:12 a.m. – Yellowjackets

Melanie Lynskey (Actor)
Christina Ricci (Actor)
Karyn Kusama (EP/Director)
Jonathan Lisco (Showrunner/EP/Writer)
Bart Nickerson (Creator/Showrunner/EP/Writer)

11:28 a.m. – We Need to Talk About Cosby

W. Kamau Bell (Director/EP)
Katie A. King (Showrunner/EP)
Jennifer Brooks (Editor)

PRIME VIDEO

11:46 a.m. – Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrls

Lizzo (Host/EP)

12:01 p.m. – Lucy and Desi

Robert Martinez (Editor)
Jeanne Elfant Festa (Producer)
Justin Wilkes (Producer)

12:18 p.m. – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Rachel Brosnahan (Actor)
Tony Shalhoub (Actor)
Alex Borstein (Actor)
Amy Sherman-Palladino (Creator/EP/Writer/Director)
Daniel Palladino (EP/Writer/Director)

12:35 p.m. – LUNCH

HULU

1:07 p.m. – Only Murders In The Building

John Hoffman (Co-Creator/Showrunner/EP/Writer)
Jane Lynch (Actor)
Nathan Lane (Actor)
Siddhartha Khosla (Composer)

1:22 p.m. – The Great

Elle Fanning (EP/Actor)
Nicholas Hoult (EP/Actor)
Sharon Long (Costume Designer)
Francesca di Mottola (Production Designer)

1:39 p.m. – Dopesick

Danny Strong (Creator/EP/Writer/Director)
Kaitlyn Dever (Actor)
Peter Sarsgaard (Actor)

1:55 p.m. – The Dropout

Amanda Seyfried (Producer/Actor)
Liz Meriwether (Creator/Showrunner/EP/Writer)
Michael Showalter (EP/Director)
Francesca Gregorini (Director)

2:07 p.m. – Pam And Tommy

Lily James (Actor)
Sebastian Stan (Actor)
Robert Siegel (Creator/Co-Showrunner/EP/Writer)
D.V. De Vincentis (Co-Showrunner/EP/Writer)

HBO MAX

2:23 p.m. – A Black Lady Sketch Show

Robin Thede (Creator/Showrunner/EP/Writer/Actor)
Tracey Ashley (Co-EP/Head Writer)
Bridget Stokes (Co-EP/Director)

2:38 p.m. – Station Eleven

Himesh Patel (Actor)
Patrick Somerville (Creator/Writer/EP)
Hiro Murai (EP/Director)

2:54 p.m. – Hacks

Hannah Einbinder (Actor)
Lucia Aniello (Co-Creator/Showrunner/EP/Writer/Director)
Paul W. Downs (Co-Creator/Showrunner/EP/Writer/Director/Actor)
Jen Statsky (Co-Creator/Showrunner/EP/Writer)

3:11 p.m. – The White Lotus

Jennifer Coolidge (Actor)
Murray Bartlett (Actor)
Connie Britton (Actor)
Natasha Rothwell (Actor)
Alexandra Daddario (Actor)
Steve Zahn (Actor)
Jake Lacy (Actor)

3:37 p.m. – AFTERNOON BREAK

COMEDY CENTRAL

3:45 p.m. – The Daily Show With Trevor Noah

Desi Lydic (Correspondent)
Ramin Hedayati (Supervising Producer/Segment Director)
Christiana Mbakwe-Medina (Writer)
Nikolai Johnson (Editor)

4 p.m. – What We Do in the Shadows

Stefani Robinson (EP/Writer)
Sarah Naftalis (Supervising Producer/Writer)
Kayvan Novak (Actor)
Laura Montgomery (Costume Designer)

4:16 p.m. – Impeachment: American Crime Story

Sarah Paulson (Actor/EP)
Sarah Burgess (EP/Showrunner/Writer)

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

4:33 p.m. – The World According to Jeff Goldblum

Jeff Goldblum (EP/Host)

4:48 p.m. – We Feed People

Ron Howard (Director/Producer)
José Andrés (Subject)

PEACOCK

5:06 p.m. – Angelyne

Emmy Rossum (EP/Actor)
Danny Glicker (Costume Designer)
David Williams (Makeup Department Head)
Vincent Van Dyke (Prosthetic Designer)
Kate Biscoe (Makeup Department Head)

Television content is booming. According to Nielsen’s

The Google TV interface on a TV screen in a darkened room

Google TV rumor points to 50 live channels coming soon

It looks as though Google TV is going to follow the path trodden by Plex and others by introducing live TV: a list of 50 free, ad-supported television channels has been discovered in the Android TV launcher app for Android devices.

The dutiful code digging was done by 9to5Google (opens in new tab), and refers to “50 channels of live TV without the need to subscribe, sign-up, or download” that users can enjoy. These channels will apparently cover “news, sports, movies, and shows”.

Google TV already integrates neatly with several live TV apps, including Pluto TV, Philo, and (of course) YouTube TV. However, it seems the update would make these channels available without the need to install any additional apps.

Channel hopping

Some of the channels listed in the code include ABC News Live, America’s Test Kitchen, ChiveTV, Hallmark Movies & More, Nature Vision, NBC News Now, Power Nation, Toon Goggles, USA Today and World Poker Tour.

It’s a reasonably impressive list, even if it doesn’t match up to the likes of Samsung TV Plus – which has more than 200 live channels available for free. As yet there’s no indication of when the addition of these channels on Google TV might be made official, and so far Google hasn’t said anything about them.

Of course TV platforms is just one of many areas where the big tech giants – Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung – are going head to head against each other, and Google will be keen to get any kind of advantage it can.

Analysis: what’s Google TV again?

If you’re confused about what Google TV is, we don’t blame you. The platform/interface/app made its debut on the Chromecast with Google TV in 2020, and has since been making its way out to various other devices as well.

It started life as a revamped interface for Android TV, and is heavily based on Android TV: you get a more modern look, better search integration across multiple apps, and extra features like a watchlist. By the end of this year, Google is looking to update as many devices as possible from Android TV to Google TV.

At the same time, the Google Play Movies & TV app has been replaced by Google TV on smartphones and tablets. This new app is similar to Google TV on televisions and streaming dongles, only it’s running as an app on top of Android rather than a full operating system on a different device.

Wherever you experience Google TV, you can buy and rent digital content, access all your streaming apps, and make use of Google Assistant. You can think of it as a direct competitor to the Apple TV app (not the Apple TV 4K streaming box).

It looks as though Google TV is

Pete Davidson, Kim Kardashian Breakup Rumors Prompt Kanye Jokes

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson have broken up after nine Instagram-perfect months together – or so E! News sources say – and social media had a field day Friday making pretty much the same joke about Kanye West rushing to his ex-wife’s side faster than you can say “Ye.”

According to E!, the lovebirds have decided to just be friends because of their busy schedules and Kardashian being a West coaster and Davidson an East coast kinda guy “made it really difficult to maintain a relationship.” Davidson has spent a large chunk of the summer in Australia filming “Wizards!” while Kardashian has remained in Los Angeles, raising her four children with West.

Reps for Kardashian and Davidson didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

But don’t rush to assume the Pete-Kim breakup means she’s getting back together with Yeezy. “The divorce is moving ahead with Kanye,” another insider shares with E! News. “They are happily co-parenting.”

Social media went berserk over the news, with one person tweeting, “Kanye outside Kim Kardashian house after Pete Davidson left her,” with a clip from “Regular Show,” (which was, in turn inspired by the iconic “take me back” boombox scene in “Say Anything”).

Others joked that if Kanye isn’t outside Kardashian’s house right now, he’s probably out there celebrating like he just won the Super Bowl. The rapper’s public pleas on social media for Kardashian to come back to him and his not-so-veiled death threats against Davidson actually got him temporarily banned from Instagram earlier this year.

Dominique Jackson suggested that Davidson has been left crying like Will in “Stranger Things” over his unrequited love for Mike. Another person tweeted that Davidson must regret getting that tattoo to pay homage to Kardashian’s four kids, while his tattoo removal guy “just put a down payment on another boat.”

Pete Davidson Jokes About Kanye in Netflix Stand-Up Clip: ‘I’ve Had a Really Weird Year’ (Video)

Pete Davidson’s tattoo removal guy just put a down payment on another boat

— Jodi Guglielmi (@JodiGug3) August 5, 2022

Or was the whole relationship simply a sociological study conducted by Columbia University, another person wondered?

Good evening, the relationship between Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian was a 24 month sociological study conducted by Columbia University. We are now complete with our study. Thank you for your time. https://t.co/3iOoOGDmhf

— ? (@hyperbolu) August 5, 2022

The reality TV star and the former “SNL” regular began dating after she hosted “Saturday Night Live” in October 2021.

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson have broken

Anitta, J Balvin, Marshmello x Khalid, More – Deadline

The first batch of performers is set for 2022 MTV Video Music Awards. Coming to the stage later this month will be Anitta, J Balvin, Marshmello x Khalid and Panic! at the Disco.

The annual Moon Person trophy show is set for August 28 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

Kendrick Lamar, Jack Harlow & Lil Nas X coming into the show tied for the nominations lead with seven apiece. Next up are Doja Cat and Harry Styles with six each and Billie Eilish, Drake, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd with five.

The 2022 VMAs will air at 8 p.m. ET/PT Sunday, August 28, across MTV’s global linear and digital platforms in more than 170 countries. For the third straight year, the VMAs will simulcast on the CW, in addition to BET, BET Her, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop, TVLand and VH1.

Here are MTV’s mini-bios of the performers set so far:

From left: Anitta, J Balvin, Marshmello x Khalid and Panic! At The Disco
Marco Ovando; Gaby Deimeke; Linus Johnson; Alex Stoddard

Anitta
The charismatic global pop sensation is slated to make her VMAs main stage debut with a first-time TV performance of her newest hit single, “Envolver,” which recently earned the Brazilian superstar Guinness Book of World Records certification as the first solo Latin artist to hit No. 1 at Spotify. Anitta also is up for her first VMA in the Best Latin category, making her the first Brazilian artist to be nominated for a Moon Person.

J Balvin
Colombian global star J Balvin returns with a TV/world premiere of “Nivel de Perreo” with Ryan Castro, back for the first time since his epic on-stage collaboration with Bad Bunny for “Que Pretendes” in 2019. The 13-time nominee with five wins also is looking to take his sixth Moon Person for Best Latin (“In Da Getto” with Skrillex), which would crown him as the most awarded Latin artist in VMAs history.

Marshmello x Khalid
Together, Marshmello and Khalid are set to take over the MTV stage for a world premiere TV performance of new chart climbing collaboration “Numb.” Marshmello — a five-time VMAs nominee — will make his main stage debut this year. Khalid returns to the VMAs stage for the first time since his 2017 debut with Logic and Alessia Cara for “1-800-273-8255,” where he also took home Best New Artist.

Panic! at the Disco
Panic! At The Disco returns to the VMAs stage for the first time since 2018 to world premiere new single “Middle of a Breakup,” from the forthcoming album Viva Las Vengeance. The nine-time nominee, who first won in 2006 for Video of the Year, also looks to take home a win for Alternative Video, its first nomination in this category.

The first batch of performers is set

People Are Talking About Horror Movies They Watched As Kids That Messed Them Up, And The Stories Are Actually Kinda Funny

“My mom saw It had a clown in it and assumed it was a kids film, so she put it on for me and my sister to watch when we were 9 and 10.”

View Entire Post ›

"My mom saw It had a clown

“Aurora’s Sunrise”: a Genocide documentary with animation, was the sensation and the discovery of the 2022 Golden Apricot Fest

“Review by Alex Deleon

“Aurora’s Sunrise”: a Genocide documentary with animation, was the sensation and the discovery of the 2022 Golden Apricot film festival in Yerevan. More than a genocide tale, it is one of the long suppression and eventual resurrection of the life and testimony of an indomitable genocide survivor, Aurora Mardiganian (a.k.a Arshaluys Mardigian) , who lived to retell her tale at age 83, when an Armenian American scholar from Zoryan Institute tracked her down after her tale was supressed and neglected for over half a century.

With her immediate family all murdered by the Turks, then pressed into slavery by the Kurds, Aurora was finally liberated and shipped to the States via Norway in the end of 1917.
At a time when “The Armenian question” was still hot news her dreadful story was picked up by Hollywood and exploited as a film in which she herself appeared. For this purpose she agreed to have her name changed from the original Armenian Arshaluys to the direct English equivalent, “Aurora”. However, the strain of reliving her horrible experiences soon became too much for the 18 year old and she ended up in a convent, her role in the money making film taken over by an actress. Once the subject was no longer profitable the film, as well as Aurora’s entire story was dropped like a hot potato and allowed to lapse into obscurity.

Perhaps a better name for the current film would be “Aurora’s Resurrection”.
In live footage scenes from that interview Aurora, now 83, states that the true horrors of Turkish brutality have never been shown before — we then see a shot of women empaled on stakes and left to die in an open field — the stakes still protruding from swollen bellies.

Even for Hollywood’s silent film, the scene was so horiffic, that they changed it to crucifixion of women,
What really sets this film apart is the ingenious use of hyper-realistic animation — based on direct tracing over old photographs — giving these images a new life as if they had been taken just now, not a hundred years ago — giving the entire film a striking impact of immediate actuality.
Inestimable credit for this must be extended to art director Tigran Arakelyan, who coordinated the work of -many artists and animators, both from Armenia and Lithuania (the film is co-production between Armenia, Germany and Lithuania) to achieve the dazzling final effect. Aurora’s Sunrise, regardless of any prizes it may win along the way, will surely go down as a new landmark in Armenian cinema.

By orchestrating and directing this masterpiece of documentary art, Inna Sahakyan has carved out a permanent place for herself in the history of Armenian cinema.

Aurora’s Sunrise is still working on its North American festival premiere.If It attracts the wider attention there that it so richly deserved it may well go down as an international landmark of innovative documentary cinema in general as well.

Inna Sahakyan, director of “Aurora’s Sunrise”

"Review by Alex Deleon "Aurora's Sunrise": a

‘Memory Box’ Review: Tender Lebanese Drama Unearths a Mother’s Past

A daughter uncovers her mother’s wartime scrapbooks in this mixed-media dance of memory set between present-day Montreal and 1980s Beirut.

Though it feels like the phrase “generational trauma” is everywhere these days, it’s only in the past decade that growing mental health awareness has made such terms ubiquitous. Though scientists have long studied the ways inherited trauma can actually alter our DNA, only recently have epigenetics filtered into everyday usage. But artists do not need science to tell them what they feel in their bones, and film is a powerful tool to illustrate the ephemeral memories one stores in the body.

Set between present-day Montreal and 1980s Beirut, “Memory Box” actualizes a treasure trove of unprocessed trauma in the form of a mysterious box of letters, scrapbooks, and tapes. When a curious daughter discovers a vast archive of her mother’s distant past, she begins to understand the difficult woman who raised her in new ways. As cassette recordings fade into voice memos, the work of filmmakers Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige blends old and new in a lyrical mixed-media dance of memory. Blurring the lines between past and present, “Memory Box” floats in and out of two parallel stories, never quite allowing either one to take hold. As the focus shifts from daughter to mother, the audience is caught in the middle. Much like memory itself, the threads never fully coalesce until the very end.

We meet idealistic young Alex (Paloma Vauthier) while carefully wrapping grape leaves with her Teta (Clémence Sabbagh), a stoic grandmother who wishes Alex’s Arabic were better and gently scolds her for wasting water. As they anxiously await Maia’s (Rim Turki) arrival for Christmas dinner during a blizzard, a mysterious box appears from a kindly postman. Labeled with a mysterious woman’s name, Teta insists on hiding the box from Alex’s mother, saying “The past drives your mom crazy.” Later that night, Alex sends a pensive voice memo to a friend, describing the loneliness of their three-person holiday with a poetic lilt: “We eat with the dead and ghosts.”

When Maia discovers the box, unleashing a torrent of emotion that leaves Alex resolutely intrigued. After her mother sweeps the contents of the box — scrapbooks, photos, journals, and cassette tapes — back under the proverbial rug on a shelf in the basement, Maia sneaks the materials up to her room and begins unpacking her mother’s hidden past.

She is instantly enthralled by the beautiful old photos of her young mother, excitedly remarking to her friend how much they look alike. She discovers letters written to a friend she’s never heard of, and the story of a young romance with a man named Raja. She is shocked to learn her mother wanted to be a photographer, and her collection of photos shows the promise of a young artist exploring her creativity for the first time.

As Alex reads the letters aloud, the photos skip into a kind of stop-motion animation, bringing the stories on the page to life. “With Raja, I feel alive again,” the young Maia writes. “He gets me away from the sadness reigning at home. As more of the story unfolds, it appears Teta did not approve of Maia’s choice and controlled her every move as the violence in Beirut escalated. “Mom’s killing me. Her fear rules us,” she writes.

The abstract images morph into longer scenes, though rarely with any dialogue, instead relying on the narration of Maia’s journals to tell the story. The filmmakers remain committed to their mixed-media memory collage, even as the complexity of the story grows beyond the borders of a photograph. As Alex longs to connect with her mother, so does the audience. As long as Maia avoids telling Alex about her past, the central characters argue and dodge each other, only truly connecting by the film’s end. It’s a fitting representation of the distance between them, but it makes for a less-than-satisfying drama.

The conclusion, which sees Maia return to Beirut with Alex in tow, is quite moving, despite having little dialogue. As Maia reunites with her old friends, now middle-aged and greying, the group dances to Blondie’s “One Way or Another” with the same wild abandon they had as teenagers. It’s in these moments of images mirroring each other that “Memory Box” work best, as the past echoes its song into a hopefully brighter future.

Grade: B

“Memory Box” is now playing at New York’s Film Forum.

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A daughter uncovers her mother's wartime scrapbooks

Everything Coming to Netflix, Hulu & Prime Video the Week of July 11, 2022

Everything Coming to Netflix, Hulu & Prime Video the Week of July 11, 2022 | Cord Cutters News

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Having loved the experience of making Season 2’s “incredible story”, Coolidge expects the audience reaction to be very positive. “It would probably be impossible to not like it,” she says.

We also get into how the show’s creator Mike White based her character Tanya McQuoid on Jennifer herself, but how secretly she’d much rather be like her iconic American Pie role, Stifler’s mom.

Plus, she reveals how to pull off a truly successful ‘bend and snap’ move.

Listen to the podcast above and subscribe and listen to 20 Questions: On Deadline on Spotify and on Apple podcasts.

A version of this interview will also appear in print in our AwardsLine magazine and at Deadline.com from August 10^th.

Welcome to 20 Questions on Deadline, our

Mike Lang Dead: Renowned Pianist Was 80

Mike Lang, one of the preeminent pianists in Hollywood history, died of lung cancer Friday morning at his home in Studio City. He was 80.

Lang played piano (or organ, harpsichord or celeste) on an estimated 2,000 film and TV scores dating back to the mid-1960s, including scores by virtually every great film composer of the past 50 years: John Williams (“Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Catch Me If You Can”), Jerry Goldsmith (“Gremlins,” “The Russia House”), John Barry (“Body Heat,” “The Specialist”), Henry Mancini (“10”), Alex North (“The Shoes of the Fisherman”), Elmer Bernstein (“The Rainmaker”), Miklós Rózsa (“Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid”) and many others.

Composer Lalo Schifrin (“Mission: Impossible”) was among Lang’s earliest champions in Hollywood, adding Lang’s piano to what eventually became the Grammy-winning Paul Horn album “Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts” in 1965. Lang played piano for Schifrin on dozens of subsequent albums and film scores including the Oscar-nominated “The Competition” and “The Sting II.”

Lang also played for composers including James Newton Howard (“Glengarry Glen Ross,” “Lady in the Water”), Alan Menken (“The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin”), Marc Shaiman (“City Slickers”), John Debney (“Dreamer”), Hans Zimmer (“As Good As It Gets,” “Pearl Harbor”), Randy Newman (“Toy Story,” “Secretariat”), Danny Elfman (“Batman Returns”), Bill Conti (“The Right Stuff”) and Clint Eastwood (“The Bridges of Madison County”), among others.

Composer Howard, also a pianist, told Variety: “Mike was a dear friend, colleague and teacher, gifted with monumental talent. Anyone who knew him would agree there was never a more gracious, humble and brilliant musician – a musician’s musician.”

Ralph Grierson, a fellow studio pianist, recalled the late ’60s-early ’70s era “when there was a plethora of new keyboard instruments, sometimes a new one every week. Hollywood being Hollywood, everyone wanted the latest, hippest sound. Mike and I used to joke about it being ‘earn while you learn’ because we would arrive at the studio, find an instrument we had never seen before, and be expected to perform immediately. As a player, he was one of the best; more importantly, he was a great musician. I’m honored to have been Mike’s colleague and friend.”

Lang’s hundreds of TV credits as keyboardist ranged from “The Waltons” and “Kung Fu” in the 1970s to such later shows as “Amazing Stories,” “The Simpsons,” “Frasier,” “Penny Dreadful,” “Family Guy,” “American Dad” and “The Orville.”

Interviewed last year for the “Legacy of John Williams” podcast, Lang reflected on his process: “The music itself tells me how to relate to it. I have a sound in my head. I play as an improviser, even if I’m playing Beethoven. I’m hearing the music as if it’s in Beethoven’s head. When I get it to match, so that the real sound comes out of the piano and it matches [what’s in] my head, the piano disappears. It’s a facilitator for me. The last thing I think about is, ‘I am a pianist.’ I try to make the music breathe, be vocal and expressive, and to that end the piano loses its identity.”

Lang was conversant in every conceivable musical idiom and genre, a versatility that kept him in demand for pop and jazz albums as well. He played for Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Willie Nelson, Dionne Warwick, John Denver, Lionel Ritchie, Leonard Cohen, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Vince Gill, NSYNC, Diana Krall, John Lennon, the Commodores, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand and Frank Zappa.

He was born Michael Herbert Lang on Dec. 10, 1941, in Los Angeles (but changed his name, many years later, to Michael Anthony Lang), the son of Jennings Lang, an agent who later became a producer of such Universal films as “Earthquake” and “Airport 1975.”

Mike Lang began piano lessons at age 4 1/2 and eventually studied music with L.A. composers Leonard Stein and George Tremblay, studio pianist Pearl Kaufman, and Schifrin. He graduated with a music degree from the University of Michigan in 1963.

In addition to his studio work, Lang often played jazz clubs in the L.A. area including Donte’s, Shelly’s Manne Hole, the Baked Potato and other venues. He later produced albums for his stepmother, singer-actress Monica Lewis and, in 1994, issued his first solo album on the Varèse Sarabande label, a collection of Henry Mancini songs he arranged and performed titled “Days of Wine and Roses.”

Lang turned composer briefly, for Robert Forster’s 1986 film “Hollywood Harry,” and over the years penned songs for such jazz notables as Stan Getz, Bob James, Lee Ritenour, Herb Alpert, Tom Scott and Dave Grusin. He also debuted jazz piano concerti by Byron Olson and Brad Dechter.

In July 2019 he played a sold-out Piano Spheres concert at the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall that earned a rave from the L.A. Times: “one of L.A.’s great known unknowns, a pianist and composer who doesn’t often get the spotlight… Lang reminds us of the seldom recognized but significant intersection between contemporary music and Hollywood… the revelation here was hearing our city’s musical identity in a single voice.”

Survivors include his partner, Deborah Pearl; former spouse Karen Lang; son Dave Lang, also a musician; a brother, producer-director Rocky Lang, and grandson Sunny.

Mike Lang, one of the preeminent pianists

Streaming: FAITH | what (not) to doc

August 5, 2022 · 1:31 PM

Coming to Film Movement Plus today, Friday, August 5:
FAITH

Director:
Valentina Pedicini

World Premiere:
IDFA 2019

Select Festivals:
True/False, Docaviv, Goteborg, Thessaloniki Doc

About:
An Italian sect of monastic martial arts champions, the Warriors of Light, train to fight evil.