A shoddy screenplay, bad script and a whole lot of redundant dialogues make Satyameva Jayate 2 a perfect recipe for disaster. Like all his previous films, director Milap Zaveri this film also has a 80s masala template, an item number (for which Norah Fatehi has recieved a big ‘Thank You’ in the start credits), infuriating rhyme schemes, and a pyro-maniacal obsession. And if that wasn’t enough, he also introduces a different camera angles in this scatterbrained flick which revolves around lead hero’s (John Abraham) different body parts.
The only common thread between this and the previous instalment was that both the films try to tackle corruption. Satyameva Jayate 2 collapses the moment it begins. From doctors’ strikes, to kids dying due to due to food poisoning and lack of oxygen and even flyovers collapsing, or the patriotism of Muslims being questioned and the double crossing of politicians, every trope from the 70s 80s is in play. There is a difference between patriotism and jingoism. This surpasses jingoism too.
A vigilante film, John Abraham plays a triple role (father and two sons). The two brothers grow up to become a Home Minister who wants to pass a bill of anti-corruption and the other one is a no nonsense cop. One of them turns vigilante to tackle the many issues that the society is facing. The idea of Satyameva Jayate 2 is keeping up with the times is to rip the shirt of Abraham’s back at regular intervals so that he can flaunt his muscled body.
There was a time, in the 70s and 80s, when B grade cinema embraced this theme and they did it pretty well. In many of his interviews, Zaveri said that this is his tribute to filmmakers like Prakash Mehra and Mamohan Desai. I am sorry this isn’t a tribute but in fact you are trying to question the logic of their filmmaking. Calling this convoluted mess a film is demeaning to the word, because I have seen school children putting up better stories for stage plays.
I wouldn’t fault much on Abraham — as he hardly has any material to play with. The otherwise bankable actor, who can make any tacky action watchable, practically sleepwalks through the triple role and still manages to be the best thing in the movie. But then again, what were the options — Divya Khosla Kumar who could hardly hold the fort. By the time the film ended, I felt like I had aged a few years. I was also partially deaf thanks to blaring background music and dialogues. Honestly, you need real courage to brave this one.
My biggest question is why did the producers decide to put their hard-earned money into this project when Zaveri is known to make the tackiest of films. Do yourself a favour, please avoid watching this film. Perhaps if the film doesn’t make an obscene amount of money, Zaveri will be forced to respect his audience a little and not stop questioning their sensibilities.
As the host of the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday, June 6, Vanessa Hudgens of course needed an outfit (or two) to announce each award category and winner— and boy did she serve some looks. Just as it goes at any awards show, there are always some a-listers that go all-out on over-the-top wardrobe choices, but Hudgens decided to take it several steps further by changing into not one, not two, but seven different ensembles, after stepping onto the red carpet in a show-stopping blue dress that flowed in the wind, just as her stylist (I’m sure) had pictured. But what’s even more impressive was that each look accompanied a new hairdo to match.
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Making her grand entrance onto the stage, Hudgens showed off her golden skin, which gleamed in the spotlight as if it were airbrushed in a sparkly gold minidress, and some length added to her luscious waves that dangled down to her waist to start off the night. But it wasn’t soon after that she stepped off the stage and back on wearing a completely new two-piece Versace outfit and a slicked back, middle-parted bun that had me questioning how fast her hairstylist Danielle Priano had to work to remove those supposed hair extensions and lay down fly aways before scooting her back on stage to announce another award.
Although her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently unknown, Deadline says she has a “key role” in the film. Director James Gunn took to Twitter to confirm the news, stating how “incredible” Bakalova is in the project. According to Deadline, Bakalova definitely isn’t that “unannounced actor” Gunn had recently hinted at for the third film,so internet sleuths still have time to formulate their guesses.
As to who her character is, well, there’s a few options for the Oscar-nominated actor. Many people seem very intent on Rocket’s love interest Lady Lylla making an appearance in the films, but do we really think Marvel is going to waste young talent by voicing a CGI space otter? Doubtful! More likely comic candidates include Drax’s sort of daughter Moondragon or maybe former Guardians roster member, Phyla-Vell.
The galaxy’s biggest idiots will make their return with Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, and Bradley Cooper all reprising their roles in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, which recently wrapped up filming in May. The film will also star Sylvester Stallone, Elizabeth Debicki (Tenet), Will Poulter (Detroit), Chuk Iwuji (When They See Us), and Daniela Melchior (Suicide Squad).
Gunn will be writing and directing the intergalactic feature, with David J. Grant and Lars P. Winther as co-producers. Executive producers are Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Nikolas Korda, Simon Hatt, and Sara Smith.
Becoming a breakout star after acting alongside Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Bakalova went on to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role. She’ll next be seen in the A24 slasher-comedy Bodies Bodies Bodiesbeside Rachel Sennott, Amandla Stenberg, Myha’la Herrold, and Lee Pace.
Netflix will delve into the world of the Addams Family this fall.
The streaming service dropped a first-look teaser for Wednesday during its Netflix Geeked event, and Jenna Ortega looks poised to pull off the iconic role very well.
The series is a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy.
Wednesday’s attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago — all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at the school.
Eight episodes have been ordered.
Tim Burton will direct, and exec produce the series, while Alfred Gough and Miles Millar will serve as showrunners and exec produce.
They exec produce alongside Andrew Mittman (The Addams Family, Alphas), Kevin Miserocchi (Tee and Charles Addams Foundation), Kayla Alpert (Code Black, Up All Night), Jonathan Glickman for Glickmania (Addams Family 2), and Gail Berman (The Addams Family, Alphas).
The cast also includes Christina Ricci, who portrayed Wednesday in 1991’s The Addams Family as well as its sequel Addams Family Values.
No details on who Ricci will be playing have been revealed.
Additionally, Catherine Zeta-Jones is on board as Addams family matriarch Morticia, while Luis Guzmán will portray Gomez.
The cast also includes Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley, Victor Dorobantu as Thing, George Burcea as Lurch and Game of Thrones alum Gwendoline Christie as Larissa Weems, the principal of Nevermore Academy who still has an axe to grind with former classmate Morticia.
The teaser is a lot of fun, showcasing Ortega in the role.
There is also a special appearance by someone — or should we say something? — from the movies.
Check out the clip below.
What are your thoughts on the teaser?
Will you watch Wednesday?
Hit the comments.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
While being honored at the Mendocino Film Festival, the two-time Oscar nominee told IndieWire about how he feels about the current landscape, plus what to expect from his next film, the Western “Slide.”
Even with two Oscar nominations under his belt, a resume that includes commercials for Geico and music videos for Kanye West and Weird Al, animator Bill Plympton remains committed to the DIY ethos and unique hand-drawn style that launched his career 35 years ago. “That’s the great thing about animation — there are no rules, so you can do anything you want,” he said during a Q&A following a screening of some of his shorts at the 15th annual Mendocino Film Festival Sunday. “I like to try and break the rules as much as possible.”
Plympton and his humorously provocative work had a receptive audience in the remote Northern California community known for its wine, weed, and art, delighting the audience with the kind of intimate programming that’s just not possible at the largest festivals. He also offered a first look at his upcoming Kickstarter-funded feature “Slide,” took a group of around 20 people — circled up on plush couches with drawing pads in hand — into his creative process during a drawing workshop, and offered anyone interested a personalized doodle of one of his most famous characters, the unnamed guard dog.
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As the weekend’s festivities wound down, Plympton sat down with IndieWire to reflect on the current state of animation and how he’s been able to find success while maintaining an independent spirit.
Plympton, whose dream was to work for Disney, finally got his chance after his 1987 film “Your Face” earned an Oscar nomination when he was in his forties. Disney’s lawyer came knocking with a million-dollar contract, which seemed like a no-brainer — until Plympton learned that the House of Mouse would own anything and everything he produced off the clock. He turned them down.
Working in his own studio with a small staff, Plympton went on to win a Cannes jury prize in 1991 for his short “Push Comes to Shove,” and his second Oscar nom in 2005 for “Guard Dog.” In addition to a prolific output of shorts and features, he takes on a wide range of work, from commercials and music videos to original pieces sold at galleries.
Bill Plympton at the Mendocino Film Festival
Kerry Stratford/Caliber Group/Mendocino Film Festival
That helps keep his studio going, so he can fund his shorts, which always abide by the three-rule “Plympton’s Dogma.” They’ve got to be cheap (his films cost around $1,000 a minute, most of which goes toward his collaborating artists), short (think three to five minutes, definitely not 20), and of course, they’ve got to be funny (his world is a gleefully macabre one that’s definitely better suited for adult viewers).
Despite his vastly different approach to animation than the company he turned down 30 years ago, he embraces the Pixar approach and credits the studio — as well as streamers — for helping keep what he considers the second Golden Age of Animation going.
“It’s getting bigger and bigger, a lot of it due to Pixar. Pixar changed the whole field of animation and it hasn’t necessarily hurt the 2D people, people like me, because more and more people recognize animation and they love animation,” he said.
He even considers streamers like Netflix and Hulu saviors of the form — even though Netflix passed on his pitch for “Slide.” As independent animated films like “Flee” and “Cryptozoo” make waves big and small, so have more commercial projects like Sony’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse” and Netflix’s “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” which counts former Plympton employee Chris Miller among its producers. Netflix is on track to premiere 20 animated series this year alone and Studio Ghibli stands alongside HBO, Looney Toons, and DC as main tiles on HBO Max.
As for Plympton, he is getting “Slide” ready for projected completion in April thanks to an $85,000 Kickstarter campaign and distribution presale to France, where he say he has a particularly strong audience. He’s planning for a robust festival run.
“This film is bigger than anything I’ve done before. It’s going to be maybe two hours — it’s really epic. I haven’t started editing it yet, so we don’t know how long it’s going to be,” he said.
“Slide” is a Western comedy centered around a mythological slide-guitar player who comes to a 1940s Oregon logging town to battle a pair of evil twins and save the community. He compares it to the outrageousness of “Blazing Saddles,” one of his favorite movies. It’s also a musical, in the style of Hank Williams and Patsy Cline.
Another new element for Plympton is the film’s environmental message. But true to form, there’s no soapbox here; dark humor is the medium. “It’s not a big deal — you sort of side with these trees because they scream when they get chopped down,” he said.
How can Mariah Carey be facing a copyright lawsuit in 2022 over “All I Want for Christmas is You,” a song that was released in 1994 and has been wildly popular ever since? The short answer: Because the U.S. Supreme Court says so.
Carey was hit with an infringement lawsuit Friday by a Mississippi artist named Vince Vance, who claims the singer stole her perennial holiday blockbuster from his 1989 song of the same name. That’s no small accusation: “All I Want” has reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 during each of the past three holiday seasons.
The case immediately prompted the question: Isn’t it too late for Vance to bring his case? There must be a statute of limitations for suing over song that’s been in the zeitgeist for nearly three decades, right?
The surprising answer to that question is no, thanks largely to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2014 on the movie Raging Bull, which overturned long-standing rules on how long a copyright owner can wait before taking action in court.
“The result has been not just the suit against Mariah Carey, but a flood of people coming out of the woodwork with decades-old copyright claims,” says Mark Lemley, a professor of intellectual property law at Stanford Law School.
The federal Copyright Act does have a three-year statute of limitations, but it’s a so-called “rolling” time limit that resets with each new infringement. That means every time “All I Want” is streamed, synched or sold, the clock restarts and someone like Vance can sue for damages over the previous three years of alleged wrongdoing.
“Given that Mariah Carey’s song is still actively being licensed and distributed, this means that any infringement claim related to that song may be brought,” says Paul Fakler, a veteran music litigator at the law firm Mayer Brown.
Until recently, though, a separate time limit largely prevented cases like Vance’s from being filed. The doctrine of “laches” is a rule under the American legal system that says it’s wrong to bring lawsuits if you’ve waited so long that it makes it’s unfair to your opponent. Put another way: If you aren’t sued for many years, the court system deems it fair to assume that you’re in the clear.
But in a 2014 decision over the rights to Raging Bull, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laches didn’t apply to copyright cases. The justices said that as long as someone sued within the Copyright Act’s three-year window, they could seek to recover damages for those previous three years. The high court even explicitly said it was fair game for copyright owners to wait for as long as they wanted in order to maximize their winnings.
At the time, legal experts warned that the Supreme Court’s ruling would likely lead to an explosion in years-old copyright claims. In the music industry, they were quickly proven right: Just days after the “Raging Bull” decision, a band called Spirit accused Led Zeppelin of stealing the intro to 1971’s “Stairway to Heaven.” Later, U2 was hit with an infringement lawsuit over 1991’s “The Fly,” and Meat Loaf was sued over 1993’s “I’d Do Anything For Love,” among many others.
“Spirit’s suit against Led Zeppelin for the opening of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ nearly 40 years after the fact is a high-profile example,” Lemley said, “but there have been dozens.”
The Raging Bull ruling means that Vance’s case against Carey is fair game, all these years later. But just because someone can bring a lawsuit doesn’t mean they’ll win it — and experts say Vance’s allegations over “All I Want for Christmas is You” should still face a difficult road ahead in court.
Though the two songs share an identical name and single lyric, that’s where the similarities pretty much end. And that name is hardly unique: records at the U.S. Copyright Office show many other songs with the name “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” including a number from before either Carey or Vance’s song were written.
“The only similarity he claims is in the title of the song, not the music or lyrics,” Fakler said. “Words and short phrases are not protectable under copyright law, and there are dozens of other songs with that same title.”
I’ve rarely met a cast of instantaneously unlikable characters that managed to win over my heart so completely by the end — but damned if it didn’t happen with director Peter Marcy’s Influencer. What begins as a chorus of self-absorbed defense mechanisms grows into a wide array of interesting and contrasting personalities, all brought to life by an absolutely committed cast. Written by Lindsay Marcy and Peter Marcy, the film walks through the door as a cringey slice-of-life narrative about a pair of wayward parents and their 6-year-old daughter and walks away as an understated dramedy that manages to exemplify and subvert genre tropes in equal measure.
Cameron (Adam Anderson) is a nurse, moonlighting as a singer-songwriter — at least in his egotistical mind. His former significant other, Amber (Lindsay Marcy), is a loan processor who seems to equally excel at and slack off in her work, raising her daughter Haley (Alyce D. Cooper) with as little personal responsibility as she can manage. Both of them regularly blame others for their faults and consider themselves a cut above the rest. They are always making excuses left, right, and center for their actions (or lack thereof).
“…making [Amber] and Haley homeless. This forces Cameron to take up his fatherly duties once again…”
But everything changes when Amber’s boyfriend kicks her out of the house, effectively making her and Haley homeless. This forces Cameron to take up his fatherly duties once again, though it comes at a time when the success of one of his internet videos prompts him to consider a major career change. Cameron regularly plays his songs in a largely empty bedroom to an audience of his phone until a drunken parody of a children’s song he recorded in anger becomes a minor viral hit. This grants him the fame, or is it infamy, that he’s been craving.
The title, Influencer, suggests that this film focuses heavily on someone trying to make waves in an online niche. But what becomes evident the more we continue is how the role of an “influencer” changes depending on the context. We come to understand how adults influence one another, how they influence their children, and how culture acts as a ghost in the machine when impacting everyone. We experience a series of white water rapids as these people learn to come outside of themselves and to truly care for their loved ones and themselves in a mature manner.
The fight for Severodonetsk is a Russian information operation in the form of a battle. One of its main purposes for Moscow is to create the impression that Russia has regained its strength and will now overwhelm Ukraine. That impression is false. The Russian military in Ukraine is increasingly a spent force that cannot achieve a decisive victory if Ukrainians hold on.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is therefore trying to turn his invasion of Ukraine into a brutal contest of wills. He’s betting his army on breaking Ukrainians’ collective will to fight on in their country. His own won’t likely break. Fortunately, Ukraine doesn’t need it to. If Ukrainians can weather the current Russian storm and then counterattack the exhausted Russian forces they still have every chance to free their people and all their land.
Putin amassed the wreckage of Russian combat forces into a lethal amalgam around the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk Oblast. That amalgam is crawling forward using massive artillery barrages to obliterate everything in its path allowing Russia’s demoralized and frightened soldiers to walk into the rubble.
The Ukrainian defenders are wisely withdrawing in the face of this reckless barbarism, but at a high price to their own morale and their will to continue the fight. Ukrainian soldiers and citizens are criticizing their government for not supporting the troops on the front lines. Ukrainians are starting to doubt that they can prevail for the first time since they won the Battle of Kyiv. Delays in the provision of Western aid and refusals by the U.S. and other countries to provide certain needed weapons systems are helping to fuel those doubts. And now voices are rising in the West calling on Ukraine to offer concessions.
All of which is exactly what Putin needs. He cannot defeat Ukraine militarily as long as Ukrainians retain the will to fight and the West the will to back them. So he attacks the will of both by forcing his own troops into the most vicious and brutal offensive of this war, hoping to persuade everyone that he’s finally harnessed the mass and power of Russia that Stalin wielded to defeat Hitler—and thus that resistance to his demands is futile. Putin also holds hostage critical export supplies of Ukrainian food and fuel, hoping to impose high enough costs on the West to persuade it to abandon Ukraine.
Neither Ukrainians nor their friends around the world must give in to Putin or be deluded by the current mirage of Russian success and power he is presenting in the Battle of Severodonetsk. For mirage it is. Russia’s drive in Luhansk is the desperate gamble of a dictator staking the last of the offensive combat power he can scrape together in hopes of breaking his enemies’ will to continue the fight. and let him claim that he’s taken all of Luhansk Oblast. It is a historical rhyme with Hitler’s determination to seize Stalingrad in 1942 or to hold Kharkov in defiance of his commander’s advice. There are no Russian large reserves coming behind this force to carry its successes forward. On the contrary, Putin has created it only by denuding other key axes of the forces they need to defend against Ukrainian counterattacks. This offensive will likely culminate soon because even this slow, grinding advance will exhaust the forces conducting it. Putin will then be unable to launch another for quite some time.
How can we know this? We know it in part because the mix of Russian forces conducting this offensive was formed of the ruins of units wrecked in the Battles of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, and elsewhere, not from fresh units or troops drawn from Russia. Badly damaged Russian battalion tactical groups that pulled back from Kyiv and Kharkiv were quickly reformed in Russia without being allowed to rest, re-equip, or properly absorb replacements and then were sent right back into the fight in Ukraine’s east. Many Russian “units” are reportedly amalgamations of bits and pieces of other units thrown together ad hoc and then hurled into battle. The soldiers themselves are exhausted and demoralized. Refusals to fight have become rampant in the Russian army among both soldiers and the officers who lead them.
The Russians have adapted to this grim reality by changing their tactics to something reminiscent of the First World War or the “Methodical Battle” doctrine of the French Army in 1940—artillery barrages destroy everything in a given sector of the battlefield and then Russian troops crawl forward through the ruins. But even this approach has its limits. Russia’s supply of artillery pieces is not infinite. They have had to concentrate artillery densely in the prioritized sectors, pulling it away from other areas. They have drawn artillery (and tanks and other equipment) out of ancient Soviet-era stores. And they’ve begun taking equipment out of Belarusian stocks as well—likely the last stockpiles of gear Putin can reliably get his hands on.
The supply of artillery tubes is an important limitation in this kind of war for two reasons. First, because the Ukrainians have taken a toll on Russian artillery with skillful and accurate counter-battery fire (using one’s own artillery to destroy the enemy’s). Second, because artillery (and tank main gun) barrels have a limited lifespan—they start becoming markedly less effective after firing a certain number of rounds and need to be replaced. There’s no way to know when these factors will force the Russian military to curtail its reliance on artillery in this way, but they eventually will do so.
But the Russian soldiers will likely burn out themselves before they burn out their artillery. Ukrainian defenders are inflicting serious casualties on Russian troops across the front despite the adapted Russian tactics. Russian military bloggers and others are passing along the complaints of Russian troops that they are subjected to devastating Ukrainian artillery fire even when just sitting in their defensive positions. Russian troops attacking where Ukrainian forces hold their ground continue to take losses even after the artillery barrages, which rarely eliminate all resistance.
Russian milbloggers, documents revealing Russian judicial proceedings against soldiers and officers who have deserted or refused orders to fight, and intelligence reports about such incidents all paint a picture of a Russian military that is exhausted, demoralized, demotivated, and increasingly angry about its treatment.
Ukrainian soldiers in some parts of the front are showing similar signs of demoralization. The well-publicized incident of Ukrainian volunteers refusing to continue fighting near Severodonetsk in late May revealed and fueled some of the anger and resentment within the Ukrainian military and Ukrainian society about the very difficult conditions they are facing. That incident has led to hyperbolic headlines suggesting that Ukrainian soldiers are deserting or “fleeing” en masse—which is not the case. But the phenomena of anger, feelings of betrayal, and frustration in the Ukrainian armed forces are real and dangerous. They can become more dangerous over time as the cumulative effect of many small such feelings takes its toll. The US and the West must take more account of the fact that the timely delivery of weapons and capabilities to Ukraine’s armed forces is essential to helping sustain Ukrainian morale and will to continue fighting through this difficult time. Delays and half-measures can cost both the tangibles of terrain and casualties and also the intangibles of hope and confidence in the possibility of success.
The problems in the Russian military at this moment, however, are far more dangerous to the success of Russia’s undertaking. Ukraine’s fighters are defending their homeland against a brutal invasion. They are extraordinarily unlikely to break or refuse to fight on a large scale unless things become dramatically worse for them. That is unlikely to be the case because Western aid continues to flow in—albeit with too many delays, too many restrictions, and on too small a scale The Ukrainian military keeps getting its current equipment and supplies refreshed and periodically gains new capabilities. Russia’s ability to generate new equipment has been seriously compromised by Russian failures to prepare for the war to begin with, international sanctions that deprive Russia of key components especially for their most advanced systems, and rampant corruption and theft that hollowed out the Russian military. Putin has been slow to mobilize Russian military industry and it is not clear how much he can or how rapidly such mobilization will generate effects.
Russian soldiers, moreover, are fighting a war of aggression in a foreign land. A growing proportion of them are either conscripts or involuntarily recalled reservists (that is, conscripts who had completed their obligatory military service and have now been compelled to rejoin the military and fight). Very, very few Russians are choosing to enlist voluntarily to fight in this war. A rash of Molotov cocktail attacks against Russian military induction centers attests to growing resentment in Russia. Russian officers have to cajole, coerce, and compel these conscripts and reservists to launch attack after attack, and getting people to attack is almost always much harder than getting them to defend.
The Russian officer corps itself has also been decimated in this conflict. As the Russian military struggled to advance even in the first weeks around Kyiv Russian officers of all ranks found it necessary to move forward and lead from the front—where they suffered high casualties at all ranks from lieutenants to senior generals. The losses of Russian officers are far more devastating to Russia than similar losses would be to Ukraine, even if Ukraine had been losing officers at the same rate, which does not appear to be the case. The Russian army is manifesting a Soviet-style relationship between leaders and led—the soldiers and junior officers are reluctant to act unless a senior officer makes them and tells them exactly what to do. The Ukrainian defenders, on the other hand, have consistently shown the ability to operate with smaller groups led by more junior leaders taking the initiative and acting much more autonomously. They are not as dependent on having senior officers present everywhere to make anything happen. And, again, the burden on leaders in getting soldiers to conduct dangerous and costly attacks is generally much higher than on those who have to lead defenses or conduct counter-offensive operations to liberate their own country at times and places of their choosing.
For all these reasons and more the current Russian offensive will almost certainly stall at a certain point, probably before it has secured the rest of Donetsk Oblast—Putin’s stated objective in this phase of the war. When it does the Russian military will likely have expended the last of its available effective offensive maneuver capability for now. There is no vast mobilization of Russian troops preparing to enter the war, no untapped reserves of combat-ready troops to send, no more areas of the front from which to draw fresh troops for another drive. Even if Putin ordered general mobilization tomorrow, fresh troops would not start streaming into Ukraine for many months—such are the realities of mobilizing and training soldiers even to be cannon fodder.
The Russian military certainly cannot sustain the current offensive long enough and far enough to destroy the Ukrainian military or seize other major cities. We must not allow the depressing losses of Severodonetsk and likely more territory in the east to obscure that reality.
Severodonetsk is not decisive terrain. Seizing it does not give the Russians new roads along which to conduct new offensives on favorable terms. Losing it does not unhinge Ukraine’s ability to defend critical positions. Ukraine can lose Severodonetsk and still win this war. It can lose Luhansk and even Donetsk Oblast, and still win this war as long as it does not lose too much of its effective combat power in doing so.
So Ukraine will still have its chance to turn the tide of this war once again in its favor even after the fall of Severodonetsk, and Lysychansk, and other areas in the east. If Ukrainians retain their will to fight and their justified confidence in their ability to liberate much if not all of their occupied territory, and if the West holds to the commitment that President Joe Biden recently articulated in his New York Times op-ed to support Ukraine in that aim and to refrain from pushing Kyiv to make concessions, then there is every reason for hope.
The Ukrainians have many reasons to hope that they can liberate their occupied country and rebuild their shattered state into a bastion of freedom strong enough to deter future attacks and, ultimately, to live in peace. The hope of that prospect does not offset or reduce the pain they have suffered and will suffer. But it is a hope that seems, to an outsider at least, to be worth fighting for, especially when the alternatives are so dire.
May Ukrainians retain the will to keep fighting for that hope, and may the West keep helping them to achieve it.
Games publisher Annapurna Interactive has tapped industry veteran Chelsea Hash to helm its internal development studio, which launched in 2020 and is based in Los Angeles.
She will lead development on Annapurna Interactive’s new, unannounced project together with with technical director Brett Lajzer, senior producer Evan Hembacher, art director Cosimo Galluzzi and environment artist Nate Grove.
Hash served as game director on 2021’s sci-fi adventure title Solar Ash from developer Heart Machine, and as a technical art lead on What Remains of Edith Finch from Giant Sparrow. Both titles were published by Annapurna Interactive.
“We’ve worked closely with the people at Annapurna Interactive for years and this was an exciting next step for us to be able to integrate with the team,” said Hash in a statement. “We are working toward a special new experience and look forward to revealing more details.”
Annapurna Interactive was founded in 2016 as a division of Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures, and is known for publishing story-driven titles from independent game creators.
Its portfolio includes Cardboard Computer’s Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition, Mountains’ Florence, Luis Antonio’s 12 Minutes and Sam Barlow’s Telling Lies. Beethoven & Dinosaur’s The Artful Escape and Cloisters Interactive’s A Memoir Blue feature among recent titles.
In today’s know-everything entertainment climate, seemingly no aspect of the biz is off limits. And yet there’s one key element that tends to escape discussion: how Hollywood protects its valuable IP from destruction or theft, especially in the digital age, when hacking is so prevalent.
Archiving is the bedrock of keeping content safe to preserve the rich history of entertainment around the globe, and in many cases, the watchword is simple: Preserve or perish.
Variety Intelligence Platform dove deep on the topic, producing the data-filled special report “Archiving Entertainment” — presented by physical/digital asset preservation leader Iron Mountain Entertainment Services — as well as this companion webinar.
VIP+ media analyst and correspondent Heidi Chung sat down with IMES GM Lance Podell, VP of Technology Denis Leconte and archivist and records management expert Anthony Jackson to unpack the ins and outs of content preservation.
So, where do today’s creatives stand in terms of guarding their legacy for decades to come? Oddly, according to Jackson, it was the pandemic that served to klieglight the need for proper preservation.
As the world hunkered down at home and became ravenous for content, he says, studios’ typically “back office” archiving and distribution teams were suddenly front and center. “The archiving executives started to get called up into the CEO suite and asked, ‘Hey, all of that physical content we had — can we digitize that and get it up on our streaming services?’ “
Now that the average consumer is aware of the importance of archiving, Jackson hammers home two key points: “We really are preserving cultural history for future generations … and whatever form a [film or master recording] was in 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago is no longer going to withstand the test of time if we don’t digitize it.”
Despite the relatively recent increase in resources for media companies’ once tiny archiving teams, Podell says many studios and artists were long aware of the best practices for preserving their assets, using the premium archival services Iron Mountain offers, including digital imaging, data recovery and data migration.
The actual processes of archiving have advanced tremendously over the past decades, with the development of new technologies and the birth of cloud storage, something IMES’ Leconte sees as both a blessing and a curse.
On the plus side, he says, advancements bring greater storage capacity and greater throughput to attack the “mountains of archives.” He credits the advent of machine learning for allowing “the gathering of metadata that really wasn’t thought of when the assets were created, so it helps ferret out what’s important.”
On the “curse” side, industry advancements can be a double-edged sword because preserving the legacy of old assets becomes more challenging. “As technology marches on, there are hundreds of formats, Leconte says, “and the technology decisions that are made at the origination of an asset really influence the life of the asset afterward.”
“New,” of course, always brings with it unforeseen hurdles. One of the “civilization oopsies,” Leconte says, is that until the latter part of the 20th century, content archives were “human visible … they were optical” — as in libraries with preserved hard copies. Then “humanity went to archive media that required equipment.” In the case of videotapes, he adds, “lots of attention was paid to archiving the tapes, but not that much attention was paid to archiving the equipment to read these tapes.” And that is a problem today’s archivists face every day.
The bottom line, Chung notes, is that it’s critical for studios, production companies, musical artists to protect their work, so all these challenges must be met. And this includes both preserving the assets that exist and monetizing the content that’s in their vaults. Is all this protection worth the outlay? Jackson says it succinctly: “Companies [and artists] that get it, get it, and they have a percentage of their budgets set aside for proper archiving.”
On that point, all on our panel agreed. So if you devour content and respect the work of the past, this is one facet of Hollywood worth understanding. Be sure to check out our special report after replaying the webinar, and stay tuned for lots more VIP+ panels.
Netflix’s Geeked Week is well underway and one of the biggest announcements to come so far is more information on Netflix’s anticipated series, The Sandman which is coming to Netflix on August 5th, 2022.
For Sandman fans, it feels like an eternity has passed since Netflix announced its plans to develop Neil Gaiman’s seminal comic into a live-action show in 2019. But now, the dream is fast becoming a reality. At Geeked Week, the streamer gave us a new glimpse of the show, and it looks glorious!
While only short at 1:27, the teaser gives us a peek at some of the main characters and locations. We get the first glimpse of Mad Hettie, who’s trying to convince Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) that Dream is out there. Elsewhere, we see Dream return to his realm, The Dreaming, where he is greeted by Lucienne (Vivienne Acheampong). He learns that, in his absence, his kingdom has fallen. This scene feels like it’s taken directly from the pages of the comic.
Also, we get a look at some of the Endless. There’s a very brief shot of Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), who is perhaps the breakout character from the entire comic book. We only see her for about a second, but from that, we can see that her appearance is very much as expected. She’s wearing her sigil, an ankh necklace. The setting in which she appears looks to be the park where she meets Dream in The Sound of Her Wings. Next, we see Desire (Mason Alexander Park) with their yellow eyes.
A couple more non-Endless characters show up, too. There’s villain John Dee (David Thewlis), who’s ominously holding Dream’s ruby — which he eventually uses to trap a bunch of innocent people inside a diner and torture them. Then we see The Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook), the nightmare creature created by Dream.
The visuals in the teaser are absolutely stunning. Especially The Dreaming, which is every bit the gorgeous, idyllic castle we know and love from the comic. Well, except for when we see it destroyed when Dream returns to his realm.
While this teaser gave us some new shots of the show, it is only a date announcement teaser. Before the show premieres, we can expect a much longer trailer. This is merely the beginning.
The Sandman Release Date Poster – Picture: Netflix
New character posters!
Among the other goodies we got for The Sandman today included a few new posters including character posters for The Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook) and Johanna Constantine. Let’s get right into it, starting with The Corinthian:
Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian
The Corinthian is the terrifying creature of nightmare created by Dream (Tom Sturridge) to reflect the dark mirror of humanity. He serves as one of the primary villains in the saga. Perhaps the most notable characteristic of The Corinthian is his appearance; he dresses impeccably in a white suit. Most of the time, he wears shades to cover up his most terrifying feature: he has sets of teeth instead of eyeballs. The Corinthian doesn’t play much of a role in the early issues of the comic, with his main storyline coming in volume 2, “The Doll’s House,” where he goes rogue and creates a “Cereal Convention,” which is really a convention for serial killers.
And now for our first look at Johanna Constantine:
Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine in The Sandman
Comic readers will notice that the role Coleman plays is John Constantine. In the comics, Johanna is an ancestor of John. However, in the show, Johanna Constantine plays exactly the same role as John Constantine. Dream seeks out Johanna to help him in recovering one of his three missing totems of power, his pouch of sand.
Mark Hamill will voice Mervyn Pumpkinhead
We also got a major cast announcement with the news that Mark Hamill (Star Wars, Masters of the Universe) will voice Mervyn Pumpkinhead.
If you’re new here, The Sandman can be a daunting story to wrap your head around, with huge concepts, tons of characters, and numerous myths and legends weaved into the story.
To sum it up, the story follows Dream, also known as Morpheus, Kai’ckul, Sandman, and countless other names. His name and appearance change depending on who is seeing him. We watch him endure the trials and tribulations that come with being the Ruler of Dreams. Dream has made plenty of mistakes that come back to haunt him. He’s very bad at relationships, as you will soon learn. August 5 can’t come quickly enough!
A day after Salman Khan and his father, Salim Khan received a threat letter, a team of CBI officials visited the actor’s Mumbai home. Photos and videos of the team making their way to Galaxy Apartments were shared online. As reported by PTI, Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey said, “As the matter is serious, so we have also taken this issue seriously. Our officials are actively investigating the case. No one has been detained till now. It’s too early to say if the letter is fake, and also we can’t say anything about the (involvement of) Lawrence Bishnoi gang.” On Sunday, during his morning walk, Salim came across a threat note threatening him and Salman. An FIR was filed by the Mumbai Police in Bandra.
Dharmendra rubbished rumours that he was hospitalised via a video message. In the clip shared on his Twitter account, Dharmendra said, “Hello friends, be positive. Think positive. Life will be positive. Main chup hoon, bimar nahin. Kuch na kuch chalti rehti hai.” He went on to quote his song, “Bura mat suno, bura mat dekho, bura mat socho. Take care, love each other. Life will be beautiful.”
Nayanthara and Vignesh have been making headlines lately for their rumoured wedding. However, it seems like they’ve confirmed that the wedding is indeed taking place. Recently, the couple met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and actor-politician Udhayanidhi Stalin to invite them for their wedding reception. Apart from CM MK Stalin and his son, the couple has invited several other prominent personalities for the reception, which will take place after the wedding.
Ankita Lokhande opened up about the toughest phase in her life after the demise of Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020, and how her husband stood by her. Sushant passed away on June 14, 2020, at his Bandra residence. During an interview with ETimes, Ankita revealed that Vicky and SSR knew one another from before. But she said that they began dating in 2018 when a meeting led to them having a deep conversation. She says the relationship began from there. Ankita Lokhande said that Vicky Jain faced social media hatred after the demise of Sushant Singh Rajput as people felt that the star would have survived if Ankita Lokhande was by his side. “Vicky comes from a very respectable family. I remember they called me and supported me saying, ‘Don’t worry, all will be well’,” she said.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who is a definition of bold and beautiful, posted a glamorous photo of herself on her Instagram feed and set the Internet on fire. The picture left many celebs awestruck, including Anushka Sharma, Hansika Motwani, Lakshmi Manchu and others. In the post, Samantha looks breathtaking in a Burberry bikini set, which she paired with pants from the shelves of the British fashion house. She opted for a nude look to go with the attire. Minutes after Samantha posted the photo, the comments section was filled with many reactions.
Top Gun: Maverick star Greg Tarzan Davis is here to remind you that small moments can still leave big impressions.
In 2018, Davis auditioned for a bit part in Harrison Ford’s The Call of the Wild, and he made such an impact on casting director Denise Chamian that she quickly called him back to audition for a classified project. When that audition led to an eventual callback, that’s when Davis met Maverick director Joseph Kosinski who revealed that he had already begun the process of auditioning for his Top Gun legacy sequel.
Once Tom Cruise watched his tape and gave his blessing, Davis was officially cast in the role of Lt. Javy “Coyote” Machado, but it wasn’t exactly the role that audiences are currently seeing on the big screen.
“Even during the early part of filming, my part wasn’t as involved as I am now. Thankfully, I guess I left a great impression on Tom, McQ [screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie], Joe and Jerry [Bruckheimer], because they were like, ‘Hey, let’s get him involved more,’” Davis tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Davis impressed Maverick’s creative team so much that they put together an expedited flight training program so that he could catch up to the other main pilots who’d already commenced the process.
“I wasn’t even flying in the jets at first. I was one of the pilots who was just in the background … So I was able to start training with other pilots and have some great moments in the film that I’m happy about, especially with it being my first project. So my role grew massively from what it was,” Davis shares.
Davis left such a mark on McQuarrie that the Mission: Impossible filmmaker called him during Maverick’s post-production process to make him his first direct offer.
“So McQ talked to me all the time about cinematography, writing and storytelling, and then Tom would do it as well. But after talking to McQ … he said he enjoyed what I did on [Maverick] and that he thought about me as he was writing Mission: Impossible 7. So he wrote a character for me, and I thought that was really cool because I’d never had a direct offer for a film,” Davis says.
In a recent conversation with THR, Davis also discussed the moment Coyote passed out in the air and whether it actually happened in real life. Then he elaborates on his Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One casting and why McQuarrie was worried he’d say no.
You guys knew you had a winner all along, but since the CinemaCon screening, there’s been an avalanche of praise. How does it feel after waiting such a long time for this moment?
It’s so good to hear. Honestly, we knew we did a great job with the film because we put our all into it and that’s all you ever want to do. We left everything out there. So it’s great to hear other people say it two-and-a-half years later because you kind of forget what you did after so long. It’s just really nice to hear that people enjoy what we thought was also a great movie.
Jerry Bruckheimer has made countless movies, and even he admitted that the wait was excruciating. So with Maverick being your biggest role to date, you must’ve been beside yourself.
Yes, for multiple reasons. This was my first film, and I was looking at it like, “OK, yeah, this will open up some doors for me. I’ll get more work.” But because of the pandemic, nobody was really getting any work. And like I said, we knew it was a great film, so we all wanted to share it with the world. But it’s here now! And in the grand scheme of things, we’re lucky that it has come out at this time because we’re fighting to keep cinema alive, and I think this is the film to do it.
Greg Tarzan Davis Plays “Coyote” in Top Gun: Maverick From Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Was casting quite an involved process? Were you up against hundreds of potential Coyotes?
There were a lot of Coyotes. First off, I was called into [casting director] Denise Chamian’s office for a movie called The Call of the Wild. It was a three or four liner, and I apparently did well in that part to the point where she called me back for a top secret project. She didn’t tell me what it was, so when I went in and auditioned for it, I got a callback. And that’s when I met with Joe [Kosinski], who said, “Top Gun.” And I was like, “What?! This is so cool.” So it was an amazing experience.
After that, they sent my tape off to Tom Cruise, and when I heard that he was looking at my tape, I was geeked. I was like, “Wow, I really made it past this part.” And then I got a call saying that I booked the job. When I talked to Joe afterwards, he was like, “Yeah, everybody in town was trying to audition to be a pilot and to be a part of Top Gun.” Who wouldn’t?
Did the character change a great deal from the initial casting breakdown?
Yeah, my role as Coyote changed a lot. When I first signed onto the project, I read a script that’s completely different from the film. But even during the early part of filming, my part wasn’t as involved as I am now. And thankfully, I guess I left a great impression on Tom, McQ [Christopher McQuarrie], Joe and Jerry, because they were like, “Hey, let’s get him involved more.” I wasn’t even flying in the jets at first. I was one of the pilots who was just in the background or something like that. So I was able to start training with other pilots and have some great moments in the film that I’m happy about, especially with it being my first project. So my role grew massively from what it was.
Greg Tarzan Davis Plays “Coyote” in Top Gun: Maverick From Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
How do you think he got the call sign Coyote?
So Coyote is the one of the dog pack. He’s the smallest dog when you compare him to a wolf or something like that, so he has to fight his way to the top. I think Coyote is the person who always feels he has to prove himself. Although he is the best, he feels he has to show you that he is the best. And for those who’ve seen the film, you understand exactly what I’m talking about because he pushes the envelope.
When we meet him in the bar, he seems to be a long-time friend of Hangman (Glen Powell). What else do you know about the road to that point?
So Hangman and Coyote are best, best friends. They both graduated from TOPGUN together as the number one and number two combo. It’s like a Shaq and Kobe dynamic. That’s how we like to look at it. So he is a person who deserves to be where he is.
That bar scene was so important to the movie since we needed an immediate understanding of who the new pilots are and what their existing relationships are like.
Yes, everybody knows of each other because when you’re the best of the best, you hear about people. So we’ve had our encounters. Coyote has met Phoenix [Monica Barbaro] and Rooster [Miles Teller] before, and so has Hangman [Glen Powell]. Bob [Louis Pullman] was probably the only one who nobody really knew about; he slipped under the radar. But aside from Bob, Phoenix is the person who probably knew everybody such as Payback [Jay Ellis], Fanboy [Danny Ramirez], Rooster, Hangman and Coyote. But that was the first time that everybody had been in the same setting because they all graduated at different times, and they’ve all been deployed to different areas and handled different things in their military lives. Yeah, I love how every character was introduced. They showed a lot of personality.
And to be honest, that was a scene that we shot over. When we first shot the scene, we shot it in October [2018] when we first started filming, and we all came in with the idea of how Top Gun should be shot. We saw the original, and we were holding on to the idea of the original. But Tom actually was like, “No, let it go. We’re making our own film. We’re not trying to replicate the first one. The first one was its own. This is 30-plus years later, and we want to do something completely different. We want to make it a standalone film.” So I think we did that.
But we hadn’t started flying the F-18s yet, which is the crazy part. So we did our scenes and everything, and then we did our training and flew in the F-18s. And then all of us transformed into what a Navy pilot really is. The chest was sticking out, and the swagger, the energy and the ego were there. Oh my gosh, if you were in the bar with us, you could feel everybody’s egos filling up the room. So the scene now shows some really badass pilots.
You mentioned that the best of the best have, at the very least, heard of each other, so I keep thinking about whether they should be able to recognize Maverick or not.
Yeah, that was a question that was asked: “Wouldn’t we know?” As a fan of the original film, I, Tarzan, would know. Monica would know. Glen and Miles would both recognize Maverick, but we had to step back and think about it from our characters’ perspective. Maverick doesn’t have the same type of pictures around TOPGUN’s hallways like Iceman [Val Kilmer] does. When Maverick comes in, you have the prominent picture of Iceman hanging up, but Maverick isn’t decorated like that to be posted in the same prestigious way. He’s basically a rogue agent.
There is a black-and-white photo of him, in profile, with Iceman at TOPGUN, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’d recognize him 36 years later, especially at a bar.
And who pays attention to those black-and-white photos? Nobody. But his reputation precedes him, so we’ve heard of him. It was like, “Oh Maverick? He’s this hotshot pilot.” But like you said, look how many years ago that was. None of the characters were even born, except Rooster, so it’s similar to when I hear stories about Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar]. Both of them were before our time. And like I said, Navy pilots have huge egos because they do some incredible stuff. So are we really worried about somebody from the past? Nah. We are the new-age pilots. We’re the hotshots. We’re the badasses.
So what was flight training like for you, specifically?
So when we signed up for the film, we were given a sheet that asked, “Are you comfortable with flying?” And obviously, everybody said, “Yes,” because it’s Top Gun. We were like, “Yeah, we want to be a part of it.” Actors say yes to everything. (Laughs.) So we started off in the Cessna, and Tom created this amazing program to eventually get us comfortable for the F-18. So the Cessna was just to get us comfortable with being in the air, to see how it feels, and to understand how it works.
But before we got in the plane, we were on the ground learning the minute details of what makes an airplane fly. The aerodynamics of everything. Before we even got in the plane and behind the yoke, we had to learn the ins and outs of the plane. Then we finally got up there and got comfortable with it after so many hours up there. I can’t remember exactly how many, but I want to say about 10 hours in the Cessna.
Then we moved on to the Extra 300, which allowed us to get comfortable with pulling Gs because none of us had ever pulled Gs before or flown in an Extra 300. So that was intense. We were pulling upwards of 10 Gs and sustained eight to nine Gs to prepare us for the F-18. And then we started training in the L-39, which is the closest thing to an F-18 that we could get to, and we started wearing the g-suits so we could get comfortable in them.
But before getting into the F-18, we had to do something for the Navy. In order to fly in the F-18, you have to pass a swim test requirement, and that was a traumatic experience because I didn’t know how to swim. So we trained with a U.S. Olympic swim coach, who taught us how to swim with 40 pounds of gear on your body. This was meant to prepare us for the Helo Dunker, which takes you underwater and inverts you upside down while blindfolded, so you can practice escaping in case of an emergency situation.
Like I said, my role in the film increased, but when we started filming in October, the rest of the pilots were already training and flying, whereas I wasn’t. It wasn’t until after we filmed the beginning of the film that I got the notice, “Hey Tarzan, now we want you to start flying.” So I had to go through this accelerated course in order to start training with everybody else because there was a timeline of how many hours we needed in order to start the Navy swim test and get in an F-18.
So on a Monday, I would fly in the morning and swim in the evening. And then on Tuesday, I would swim in the morning and fly in the evening. And that continued on Wednesday, Thursday … Everybody else would swim one day and fly the next, so it was intense, but it played well into my character of Coyote. I had to grind it out and claw my way up to the top.
An “anonymous” fan of yours named Monica Barbaro submitted a question to me: Did you actually pass out in the plane, and have you ever heard of Dramamine?
(Davis keels over with laughter for a good 20 seconds.) Oh my god! Never have I passed out in an airplane. Never. It may look like it, but never. That is great acting — Oscar-winning acting. That’s what that is. (Laughs.) I never threw up in a plane either, but as far as dramamine goes, it helps settle your stomach, right? (Laughs.) That’s the response I have.
Is passing out a very real concern that naval aviators have?
It is very common at first, but naval aviators fly all the time so they know how to protect themselves from passing out. But throwing up is a common occurrence. It’s very intense up there. When you pull a certain amount of G’s, if you don’t fight against it, then you will pass out because the blood is leaving your head and going down to your feet.
In my intense scene [where Coyote passes out], I’m fighting against something in the air, and I’m not supposed to do the Hick maneuver, which helps you protect against the G-forces and the blood rushing from out of your head. But I wasn’t able to do that because the camera was pointing at me in this particular scene. So as it was happening, I had to just let the G-forces hit me, and then let the blood drain from my brain, which you see. I was literally holding on for dear life, and I was just waiting for us to get out of this maneuver that we were doing in the air. So I can see why people would think that I passed out, but no, I didn’t. I was still acting.
So did Cruise teach you cinematography as well?
Yes, he’s been a great mentor and teacher of everything. It wasn’t just cinematography, but acting, the business, behind the camera, and how to engage with an audience. If you felt something watching this movie, the person next to you probably felt the exact same thing. Everything is very intentional with every beat that’s in the film.
But when it came down to cinematography, Tom was very, very thorough because we were spending a lot of money every time we started the jet up and went up in the air for an hour and a half or two hours at a time. So we spent a lot of money on that, and we wanted to make sure we got exactly what we needed in that time period. So we would spend two hours on the ground, just being briefed on where the light would be. We were very, very thorough, to the point where I was like, “Whoa, I didn’t know all of this mattered.” I was just used to coming on set, saying my lines and then walking off.
So we had to become cinematographers. It was like, “OK, the sun is hitting at this point at this time, so make sure you’re at this point and hit this mark in the air. And you have to remember that another jet will be on your wing to the right, at seven o’clock, three o’clock, whatever. Make sure the light is hitting at this point and this time and that your head is this way.” So it was very in depth, but it was a lesson that I’ve taken to other jobs and it’s helped me tremendously.
Overall, did his reputation precede him in the best possible way?
Oh, he was the best to work with. After we would wrap, we would spend hours talking at base camp about his experiences making films and working with other great actors. He was a great champion of each of us because this is his baby. This is one of the films that really launched his career to where he is now. So it’s an honor to be selected by him and to be a part of it. He understood that we felt that weight, so he championed us the whole time. He was like, “I picked y’all for a reason. I know that y’all can handle it. You guys are amazing. You guys can do it.” So to hear those words from somebody as great as him, it gives you validation. It’s like, “If he believes I can do this after what he’s accomplished, then I can do this.”
So did you have a moment on set where you bonded with McQ and/or Cruise, which would later explain why they sought you out for Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One?
Because Maverick was my first film, I didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes, but I didn’t understand how everything worked. So I would sneak my way in and say, “Hey, can I just hang around after set?” I didn’t even know if I was allowed to do that. I thought I was only supposed to come when it was call time. So I was like, “Hey, can I just stay around or whatever?” And they were like, “Yeah!”
So McQ talked to me all the time about cinematography, writing and storytelling, and then Tom would do it as well. But after talking to McQ, I guess you could say we had that bond. He told me that he enjoyed what I did on the film. Now what does that mean? Is it the acting? Is it the bonding experience we had? I don’t know. But he said he enjoyed what I did on the film and that he thought about me as he was writing Mission: Impossible 7. So he wrote a character for me, and I thought that was really cool because I’d never had a direct offer for a film.
We did a lot of ADR for Top Gun, and because it was during the pandemic, we had to go in our closets to do the ADR. (Laughs.) It’s the most annoying thing to be sitting in your closet, screaming, “Ahhh!!” I was in my closet and acting like I was pulling Gs and screaming at somebody. It was the most annoying thing, and I was fed up with it. I’m joking, but I was.
Did they buy you a great microphone at least?
No, I didn’t get a free mic. I had to do it on an iPhone. I was like, “Oh my god.”
Wow.
Yeah, a freaking iPhone. If I got a free mic, that would’ve made the experience much better, but because I didn’t, I hated it. Anyway, so McQ would be the one to call about ADR. Eddie Hamilton, the editor, and Tommy Harper, the producer, would also call me and say, “Hey, we need you to do this.”
So McQ ended up calling me one particular day and was like, “Hey, I need to talk to you.” But I had a meeting and I couldn’t talk, so then he said, “Call me after.” So I called him back and I was like, “What do you want, McQ? If you’re calling about ADR, you can leave me the hell alone. Go ahead and shove it.” (Laughs.) And he was like, “No, my friend, I’m not calling you about ADR this time. I’m calling you about Mission: Impossible.” And then I got real quiet. I was like, “Okay, carry on.” (Laughs.)
“I’m listening.”
(Laughs.) Yeah, “I’m listening.” So he starts explaining the movie and the character, and then he’s like, “This is what it is, but we’re still trying to figure things out.” I’m sure you know how it is on Mission: Impossible. They’re always working on scripts. That’s how they work, and it’s amazing. He also said, “While you were filming [Maverick], I thought about you, and this popped in my head.” And I was like, “Mm-hmm.” But then I put the phone on mute and I started jumping and screaming, “Oh my god! Oh my god!” I was going nuts! I was losing my mind because he had me at, “I’m calling about Mission: Impossible …” Keep in mind, this was all on mute and McQ was still talking.
But then I heard him say, “Hello?” So I pressed unmute and said, “Yeah, uh-huh,” in order to gather myself. And then he was like, “So, what do you think?” And I tried to play it cool because I heard you’ve got to act like you’ve done a big blockbuster already, so I was like, “Yeah, alright, yeah. That sounds cool, McQ.” And he was like, “Okay.”
But I couldn’t hold it in any longer, so I started cracking. I was like, “McQ, oh my god, I tried to hold it in, but I can’t! Hell yeah, I’m taking the role! I’m so excited!” And McQ was like, “Oh my gosh, you had me scared there for a minute.” He could tell you this story better, but he was like, “I was sitting on the other end of the phone like, ‘This isn’t going well. Am I giving a good pitch? Because he’s awfully quiet over there.’” So that was a surreal experience to get my first direct offer, and for it to be Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, wow.
It looks like you spent a lot of time on that set with one of my favorite actors, Shea Whigham.
(Laughs.) Shea Whigham, I will give him all the credit for my success moving forward because he is one of the greatest scene partners I have ever had. The greatest. He keeps it fresh. He keeps it real. He always comes with something else. But even more so, he’s very, very generous. He wants me to look good at all times. He wants to make sure that we’re doing something great. He’s not a selfish actor. I’ve been fortunate enough in this short time I’ve been acting to work with great people.
But on top of all that, he took my acting to another level. We were together for a year or a year and a half, and so I had to do other auditions. So I was like, “Yo Shea, you free?” We had just met and everything, and it’s always weird to ask somebody to help you with an audition. So I was like, “Hey, you think you could help me film this?” And he was like, “Yeah, Tarzan, let’s go!” He was so amped for it, and he coached me to a point where I can knock auditions out like that. (Davis snaps his fingers.) I can’t tell you how many callbacks I’ve gotten because of his coaching and what I’ve taken away from his lessons.
Some of the projects I couldn’t do because I was filming Mission, but he has elevated me so much. We were trapped during Covid, so he would hit me up randomly in the middle of the night and be like, “Tarzan, you’ve got another audition? Do I need to call your agent? Let’s tape something, baby.” (Laughs.) Even outside of acting, he’s been a great guy and another mentor who I can go call for anything. That’s my guy. Well, I think I’ve said everything that I’m allowed to say, but I can’t wait to be able to speak freely about the movie.
Well, any final thoughts on Maverick? [Writer’s Note: This interview was conducted prior to its record-breaking release.]
I’m excited because I think it can compete with Marvel, DC and everything else, and I’m fortunate enough to be a part of a blockbuster that can help promote people getting back together and into the seats of a cinema. With kids all wrapped up in their phones and streaming, I want them to see Maverick and say, “This is what movies are like!” When I saw movies like this growing up, they made me want to become an actor. So I hope this inspires other people.
*** Top Gun: Maverick is now playing in movie theaters. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Boys are back in town. Season 3 of the Prime Video hit premiered June 3, leading the way for a month that should keep you glued to your screen when you’re not out enjoying the summer sunlight. TV Guide favorites For All Mankind (on Apple TV+) and Evil (on Paramount+) return for their third seasons on June 10 and 12, respectively, and The Umbrella Academy Season 3 hits Netflix on June 22. Big month for third seasons!
Our guide for what to watch in June is divided into three sections. First, we’ll go over the shows and movies we’re most excited to see no matter where you’ll find them on TV. After that, we’ll look at all the big streaming services individually to help you find out what to watch on the apps you already subscribe to. And finally, we’ll put all the month’s highlights together in an easy-to-read calendar so you won’t miss a premiere.
The Movies and Shows We’re Most Excited for in June
Mike Colter, Katja Herbers, and Aasif Mandvi, Evil
Prime Video’s most expensive show (in terms of fake blood budget) is also one of its most popular, and Season 3 is a full-on downpour of the ooey, gooey, red stuff. Supernatural‘s Jensen Ackles joins the cast as Soldier Boy, and the most creatively disgusting superhero death you’ll ever see happens early on. And that’s all before we see the legendary Herogasm issue hit the screen. Here’s everything we know about Season 3. –Tim Surette[Trailer]
Ten years ago a gay rom-com with Asian male leads would have been a pipe dream. Thank god for progress, because now we have the Hulu original Fire Island, a charming film about a trip to New York’s legendary party destination for gay men. Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster star as buddies who feel out of place on a week-long summer vacation and get into all sorts of shenanigans. Critics love it. –Tim Surette[Trailer]
Try to stay with me as I describe the deal with Irma Vep, which is a limited series adaptation of Olivier Assayas‘s 1996 movie of the same name, which itself is about remaking Louis Feuillade’s 1915 silent film series Les Vampires. Once you process that, it’s pretty easy to understand. In the series, Alicia Vikander takes the mantle from Maggie Cheung as the disillusioned actress starring in the Les Vampires remake. The line between what separates TV and movies continues to blur every day, but this looks great. –Allison Picurro[Trailer]
We’re going to Mars, baby! Apple’s excellent alternative history sci-fi series about the never-ending space race moves to the 1990s in Season 3, where the next small step for man is to drop a boot on the Red Planet. But this time it’s not just Russia vs. America; private enterprise has entered the mix. This is looking less and less like alternate history, which is one of the things that makes this season so great. –Tim Surette[Trailer]
It isn’t summer until someone’s possessed. The coolest show on TV — and definitely the only one with a sleep demon that wears a retainer — is back for more trippy cases, creative exorcisms, and lusting over a priest. Season 3 of Evil picks up in the aftermath of last season’s stunning forbidden kiss between Kristen (Katja Herbers), hot off a murder confession, and David (Mike Colter), newly ordained. –Kelly Connolly[Trailer]
Season 2 of The Umbrella Academy left off on a major cliffhanger when the gang time-traveled from the ’60s back to an alternate version of 2019 in which Hargreeves (Colm Feore) had trained seven different superpowered babies into becoming the Sparrow Academy. In Season 3, the series is picking up right where it left off, and the Umbrellas will have to deal with the apocalyptic event potentially caused by their timeline jumping. –Allison Picurro[Trailer]
Your guess is as good as mine about what kind of Westworld we’ll get in Season 4. When we last saw the Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy sci-fi series (which dropped Season 3 right as the pandemic began), the Western theme park was mostly abandoned as the robots leaked out into the real world. We don’t know much about Season 4 except that we’ll probably be just as confused as we were in Season 3. –Tim Surette[Trailer]
The show that appeals to the microscopic center of the Venn diagram that covers fans of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez returns. This season, the true crime-loving nosey neighbors become implicated in a murder, compete with a rival podcast, and must roam their apartment building with accusatory eyes on them. Relatable! –Tim Surette[Trailer]
The Best Shows and Movies in June by Streaming Service: Amazon, HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu, and More
June is going to be awfully good to Hulu. After a relatively mellow May, Hulu is breaking the dam on its streaming, with a few high-profile original series — The Orville: New Horizons; Love, Victor; and Only Murders in the Building — as well as the original movie Fire Island, and one of 2021’s best films, the Norwegian dark comedy The Worst Person in the World. It’s also benefitting from some next-day drops from other networks, like FX’s The Old Man and The Bear and Freeform’s final season of Motherland: Fort Salem. June also marks the return to streaming of pop culture sensation Glee, which moves to Hulu after leaving Netflix last year. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Hulu in June, plus everything coming to Hulu in June.
The most high-profile thing happening on HBO and HBO Max in June is the return of Westworld, which last aired in 2020 despite kind of feeling like it’s been away for even longer. Season 4 doesn’t kick off until June 24, but there are plenty of other new shows and movies to keep things interesting until then. Irma Vep, which stars Alicia Vikander as a disillusioned actress with a new gig, a new season of the funny and vibrant animated series Tuca & Bertie, and one of 2021’s most interesting movies, Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter, all come this month. June also sees the premiere of two documentaries: the timely abortion film The Janes and Morgan Neville’s Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on HBO and HBO Max in June, plus everything coming to HBO and HBO Max in June.
If we’re being honest, the June Netflix lineup is kind of a snooze. The most exciting new release doesn’t even come until the end of the month when The Umbrella Academy drops its third season. Still, Netflix never slows down its release schedule, which means there are plenty of new movies and TV shows to watch in June. Adam Sandler, still in his serious actor era, kicks off the month with his basketball drama Hustle. There’s also the teen lesbian vampire series First Kill and a new season of Peaky Blinders. Plus, 12 (!) new comedy specials, if you’re into that. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Netflix in June, plus everything coming to Netflix in June.
This June on Amazon Prime Video is for the boys. The Boys, specifically — Prime Video’s twisted superhero series starring Antony Starr as Homelander, the meanest cape-wearing S.O.B. you’ll ever see laser-eye bad guys (and some good guys) in half. Season 3 is here to save the day on June 3. I don’t even think James Bond would stand a chance against Homelander, but you can see Bond’s audition to do so in the streaming debut of No Time to Die (June 10), the newest Bond movie that came out in late 2021. It’s a double-O good time. Elsewhere, the complete series of Will & Grace, the original Top Gun, and a live-stream of the Tony Awards also come in the first half of the month. For those of you looking to save a few bucks, Amazon’s ad-supported free streaming service Freevee adds every season of the spy thriller Alias, the home reno show Hollywood Houselift with Jeff Lewis, and both Deadpool movies. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video in June, plus everything coming to Prime Video in June.
We’ve already talked about the third seasons of Apple TV+’s For All Mankind and Paramount+’s Evil up above, but June is massive for even more shows that aren’t on the big streamers. One of the best-reviewed shows of the year is Ben Whishaw’s medical dramedy This Is Going to Hurt, which comes to America via AMC+ and Sundance Now starting June 2. Apple’s other highlights include Rose Byrne’s flexible performance as an antihero in the aerobics drama Physical (June 3) and Maya Rudolph as a clueless rich person in the new comedy Loot (June 24). Starz’s strip club drama P-Valley returns for Season 2 on June 3, and on the opposite side of the spectrum is Disney’s big release of the month, Ms. Marvel (June 8). And TNT will say goodbye to its long-running crime drama Animal Kingdom, which signs off after six seasons on June 19.
More on Apple TV+, Peacock, Disney+, and Paramount+:
June TV Calendar Highlights
Thursday, June 2 The Orville: New Horizons Season 3 (Hulu) Borgen Season 4 (Netflix) This is Going to Hurt Season 1 (AMC+/Sundance Now)
Friday, June 3 The Boys Season 3 (Prime Video) Fire Island (Hulu) The Floor is Lava Season 2 (Netflix) P-Valley Season 2 (Starz) Physical Season 2 (Apple TV+)
Monday, June 6 Irma Vep Season 1 (HBO)
Wednesday, June 8 The Janes (HBO) Ms. Marvel Season 1 (Disney+)
Friday, June 10 For All Mankind Season 3 (Apple TV+) First Kill Season 1 (Netflix) Peaky Blinders Season 6 (Netflix)
Sunday, June 12 Evil Season 3 (Paramount+) Dark Winds Season 1 (AMC) Becoming Elizabeth Season 1 (Starz)
Monday, June 13 The Worst Person in the World (Hulu)
Thursday, June 16 Rutherford Falls Season 2 (Peacock) Players Season 1 (Paramount+) The Old Man Season 1 (FX)
Friday, June 17 Spiderhead (Netflix) Jerry and Marge Go Large (Paramount+) Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (Hulu) The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 1 (Prime Video)
Sunday, June 19 Animal Kingdom Season 6 (TNT)
Wednesday, June 22 The Umbrella Academy Season 3 (Netflix)
Friday, June 24 Chloe Season 1 (Prime Video) Loot Season 1 (Apple TV+) The Man From Toronto (Netflix) Man vs. Bee Season 1 (Netflix) Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area Season 1 (Netflix)
Sunday, June 26 Westworld Season 4 (HBO) The Chi Season 5 (Showtime)
Tuesday, June 28 Only Murders in the Building Season 2 (Hulu)
Paramount’s plans to continue its revival of the “Scream” series will have to go on without leading star Neve Campbell, who announced on Monday that she will not return for the sixth installment of the horror series over pay issues.
“As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to ‘Scream,’” Campbell said in a statement. “I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.”
“It’s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my ‘Scream’ fans, I love you. You’ve always been so incredibly supportive to me. I’m forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past 25 years,” the statement continued.
TheWrap has reached out to Paramount for comment.
Campbell has starred in all five “Scream” films as Sidney Prescott, who in the original 1997 film was as a high school student targeted by the mysterious Ghostface, a serial killer with a deep knowledge of horror film tropes and cliches. Over the course of the series, which has a lifetime box office total of $744 million, she becomes a crisis counselor and self-help book author who confronts other killers who take up the Ghostface persona.
Campbell most recently appeared in the fifth “Scream” film this past January, which started a hot streak for Paramount at the box office with $140 million grossed globally against a $24 million budget. A sixth installment has been greenlit by the studio but will now have to go on without its core protagonist.
Campbell’s departure was first reported by Deadline.
Like all of the programs housed under our greater umbrella of Film Independent Artist Development offerings, Project Involve is designed to help talented emerging filmmakers wedge a foot squarely between the wall and whatever doors are trying to be shut under the heavy hands of an exclusionary Hollywood. But rarely has the journey from PI to industry success—a journey enjoyed by alumni including Lulu Wang, Effie T. Brown, Marvin Lemus and others—been less circuitous than that of Emergency filmmakers KD Dávila and Carey Williams.
Working PI’s Screenwriting and Directing tracts—respectively—Dávila and Williams met in the program and were paired together to collaborate on the 2017 Project Involve short “Emergency,” which went on to win a 2018 Sundance Special Jury Award and the 2018 SXSW Narrative Short Film Jury Award. The short’s success led to its expansion into a feature film, which debuted earlier this year at Sundance 2022, where it was picked up by streamer behemoth Amazon.
All things Emergency finally came full circle Tuesday, May 10 at the Harmony Gold Theater in Hollywood, as Emergency finally returned home for a Film Independent Presents screening followed by a lively Dávila and Williams Q&A moderated by Film Independent President Josh Welsh—and with Project Involve Associate Director Francisco Velasquez looking on, beaming like a Little League dad whose kid just hit a game-winning grand slam.
Watch the full Q&A above and keep reading for highlights…
KD DÁVILA & CAREY WILLIAMS
Carey Williams (photo: Amanda Edwards, Getty Images)
Collaboration is born. “Before we got into the scripts and we were just coming up with story ideas, we got to know each other a little more,” said Dávila, “We were talking about this idea [Emergency] before I even pitched it.” Williams was intrigued, but hesitant: “I was scared of this project,” he admitted, “It was a humorous take on something very serious. But I also thought that was what made is special.” The result? The comedic tale of three college roommates of color, who discover an unconscious, alcohol-poisoned white girl in their apartment but are too fearful of a misunderstanding—and possible police violence—to call for help.
Funny that way. Williams eventually made sense of Emergency’s complicated tone after Project Involve mentor Angel Kristi Williamsrecommended he watch the 2003 Seith Mann short “Five Deep Breaths,” which addresses similar themes. “It really focused on the friendship of these young men and I was like, This is the way in.” Observing that most Project Involve shorts tend to skew dramatic, Welsh cited his reaction watching the premiere of the “Emergency” short at Project Involve First Look Showcase: “The element of humor just cut through and was so unexpected and great—and that’s in the feature as well.”
A cathartic, comedic experience. “We had both seen a lot of things that tried to tackle the issue of police and the tension they have with communities of color,” said Dávila. “Looking at the issue, the thing that interested me was this idea of the fact that there’s this culture of fear.” They wanted to address the topic without putting together a forensic portrayal of a realistic police shooting, she said. “The tension of the movie—the thing that the comedy and the drama are both mined from—is the fact that these guys have to perform this constant calculus of, How am I being perceived right now? Am I being viewed as a threat?”
KD Dávila (photo: Amanda Edwards, Getty Images)
Worst. Night. Ever. “I tried to make [the film] feel authored, but I didn’t want to push the comedy with the way it was shot,” said Williams of the film’s grounded visual approach. “Because this is a very real situation for them [the characters] in this night.” Said Dávila: “This is not a comedy to them at all, this is the most horrifying night of their life. For an outsider looking in, it seems comedic, but not for the characters who are in it.”
Friends we made along the way. “I’m so blessed with this cast,” said Williams, citing the return of RJ Cyler from the “Emergency” short. He expressed gratitude to casting director Kim Coleman for bringing in a wide range of performers from which to choose. “It really fell nicely into place” putting together the film’s core trio of Cyler, Donald Watkins and Sebastian Chacon, he said. The rest of the casting process happened in Atlanta, where the film was shot (under strict COVID safety protocols) in 2021. “I thought it was really funny that, of the women in the cast, all of them are named ‘Maddie’ except the one who plays Maddie”—played in the film by Sabrina Carpenter.
Blood brothers. Welsh asked how Emergency’s climactic final conversation between Cyler’s Sean and Watkins’ Kunle was constructed. “I like to think I create a very safe, playful atmosphere on set. If actors have ideas that they want to try, they feel like they can,” he said, adding: “That was the scene I wanted to see the most. It’s something I don’t usually see onscreen—two young Black men being emotionally open with each other and telling each other they love each other.” After failing to roll camera on a nearly perfect rehearsal take (which he vowed to never let happen again) Williams and his actors were thankfully able to get back to the same level. His direction? “Just go over there and talk to your brother.”
Emergency is now streaming on Amazon Prime. To learn more about Project Involve and/or any other Film Independent Artist Development programs, you can find more information here.
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Shocking moment professional cyclist smashes into his wife at race finishing line and knocks her to ground as she stepped onto the track to take photos of him winning
Champion cyclist Luis Carlos Chai smashed into his wife at the finish line
Claudia appeared to be unconscious with her eyes open on the hard concrete
Luis said he ‘could’ve hit anyone’ and she ‘should’ve been ready for photo finish’
The winner added: ‘I don’t understand why she didn’t get out of the way’
This is the harrowing moment a professional cyclist wins a sprint finish – only to smash into his wife seconds later as she took photos of him crossing the line first.
Luis Carlos Chia didn’t even have time to celebrate his triumph in the third stage of the annual cycling race the Vuelta a Colombia before the high-speed crash.
TV commentators picked up on the collision immediately.
But they only found out afterwards that the woman knocked out by the yellow jersey road racer was Luis’s wife.
Cyclist Luis smashed into wife Claudia (pictured behind him) as he won the race’s photo finish
Claudia was pictured unconscious while Luis limped away with his injuries
Live footage showed Claudia Roncancio lying open-eyed and apparently unconscious on the hard concrete behind the finish line as her injured husband was helped off his bike and limped away.
The crash didn’t stop him continuing in his quest to win the prestigious event, first held in 1951 as an idea of Englishman Donald W Raskin and a few of his friends to emulate the famous Tour de France.
But Claudia, a cyclist-turned photographer who now travels with her husband and records his cycling successes, was taken to hospital.
Overnight local reports said she remained under medical care today and had needed stitches to a head wound.
The couple have yet to comment on the surreal incident on their social media but Luis told a Colombian newspaper after the smash: ‘I wanted to brake but the bike didn’t respond.
‘I hit my wife but it could have just as easily have been another person.’
Luis provocatively said after the race: ‘I don’t understand why she didn’t get out of the way’
Insisting Claudia hadn’t lost consciousness despite the TV images showing her appearing to have been knocked out, he added: ‘The doctors have checked her and more than anything it was the shock of it.
‘She knew there was going to be a sprint finish and I don’t understand why she didn’t get out of the way.’
Colombian pro cyclist Egan Bernal, who cheated death earlier this year in a horrific collision with a bus during a training session, insisted safety always had to come first.
Luis (circled, on a 2019 podium) said of his wife: ‘She knew there was going to be a sprint finish’
He wrote on social media: ‘It’s the Vuelta a Colombia and cyclists literally risk their lives to offer a show.
‘But the safety of each and every one of them should always be guaranteed.’
Luis Carlos Chia’s third stage victory yesterday was his second so far in this year’s race following his opening day win.
There are some years where the TV trends are so obvious, it’s hard to ignore. And this year, one looms over all: The evolution of true crime, once the bastion of news magazines and cheesy made-for-TV movies of the week, into prestige television. That has been true for a while in the documentary space, but the sheer number of ripped-from-the-headlines tales taking over the scripted world is truly astounding.
And not all of them are tales of real-life death or murder (attempted or accomplished) — although plenty of them are, including “The Staircase,” “Candy,” “The Thing About Pam,” “Joe vs. Carole,” “The Girl From Plainville” and the aptly named “Dr. Death.” But what really stands out in this year’s glut of true crime are the depictions of wealthy scoundrels trying to get away with their own corporate malfeasance (while harming others in the process).
The list is weighty: There’s “Dopesick” and its chronicle of how the Sackler family hooked a nation on opioids; “The Dropout” and how Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes scammed investors into believing her technology worked; and “Inventing Anna” and its protagonist Anna Delvey, who conned many New York elite.
Julia Garner as Anna Delvey in “Inventing Anna.”
NICOLE RIVELLI/NETFLIX
What makes these shows so satisfying? I have one theory: At least these programs feature some level of accountability or comeuppance. Yeah, the Sacklers are still wealthy and they’ll never be properly punished for the devastation they’ve caused, but at least they’ve been exposed, and there’s some satisfaction that they’ll forever be tainted now that we know the truth. The same goes for Holmes, Neumann, Delvey and some of the others. Their hubris came with consequences, and at least some accountability.
That kind of justice seems to be in short supply in the real world, and that will again be true this week when the committee investigating the Jan.6 insurrection finally holds public hearings — and yet, so far, there’s been no ramifications (and as a matter of fact, with so few consequences, the likelihood of another one grows by the day). Countless elected officials encourage an insurrection that causes an unprecedented breach of the Capitol building that led to several deaths… and there’s no punishment? Mitch McConnell refused to allow a vote on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee but rushed through an unqualified Trump pick without any hesitation? Voting rights are being destroyed, a woman’s right to choose and so much progress that this country made in the 20th century is being rolled back — and there’s nothing we can do about it?
It almost seems like the only justice we get these days is on TV. I decided to test out my theory by calling CrimeCon founder Kevin Balfe, whose annual event attracts true crime fans and creators.
“We’ve seen at CrimeCon that the stories that resonate are the ones where you had all of this back and forth and twists and turns and interesting things that happened along the way, but ultimately in the end, justice is served,” he says. “A family and the victims find some closure, and everybody can walk out feeling a little bit better.”
But Balfe notes that not all real-life crime stories end on a definitive note. “The Staircase” is a good example of that, as the question of Michael Peterson’s guilt or innocence in the death of his wife is still unclear. Still, if the journey is satisfying, at least there’s comfort in knowing that examiners are doing their best to find the answers.
“I think when you look at the ones that do get adapted, things like ‘The Thing About Pam’ and ‘The Staircase,’ look at what’s required: The layers and the twists. These stories have to be exceptional,” he says. “But, I always go back to how truth is stranger than fiction.”
At WWDC 2022, Apple announced iOS 16, the successor to iOS 15, as its newest update to the iPhone.
The lock screen is the big focus for this release, with new fonts, colors and themes.
This is breaking news, we will update as soon as we hear more details.
iOS 16: Cut to the chase
What is it? The latest big update for iOS
When does it come out? TBC
How much does it cost? It’s free
Features
(Image credit: TechRadar)
The new lock screen enables you to tap in any area to change the fonts, its colors, use portrait mode for your photos, and more to set apart your lock screen with others.
Complications can also be enabled here too, lifting from the Apple Watch.
(Image credit: TechRadar)
Notifications are seeing improvements, with ‘Live Activities’, where you can create new widgets to follow news, an Uber ride, workouts and more.
Focus is seeing improvements, with it being extended to your lock screen. These can change to the focus that you’ve set it to, so ‘Meeting’ could make your lock screen change to a wallpaper and widget that involves that focus.
‘Focus Filters’ also block out tabs in Safari, accounts in Mail, events in Calendar, and more to bring in more boundaries to your workflow.
(Image credit: Apple)
Messages
(Image credit: Apple)
For iOS 16, ‘undo send’ has arrived for Messages to avoid the embarrassing message you were about to send, but this is iPhone to iPhone only.
SharePlay is also coming to the app, so you can play a movie in Disney Plus, and share it with someone in Messages.
Dictation has moved to being offline, which means that you can speak out a message at a much faster rate than before.
(Image credit: TechRadar)
Live text is seeing improvements as well, where you can copy and paste text in video, alongside being able to copy text when translating a video.
Wallet
(Image credit: TechRadar)
Wallet is seeing privacy improvements, with In-app ID verification being enabled for third-party apps.
Tap to pay on iPhone is also arriving for iOS 16, removing the need for any point of sale terminals.
There’s also Apple Pay Later, which splits purchases into three payments, and you can track this in Wallet.
There’s also Order Tracking, so you can see the latest information on your Apple Pay orders.
Maps
Maps will finally store recent trips in the app, and you can send them from a Mac or iPad device.
While on a journey, you can ask Siri to add another destination, hands-free, in case another errand pops up.
‘Look Around’, Apple’s take on Google Street View, is being opened up to third-party apps.
Sports
(Image credit: TechRadar)
iOS 16 is seeing a big push of sports, with Apple News and the TV app seeing schedules, standings and scores being readily available, alongside as a widget for your new lock screen.
Family Sharing
(Image credit: TechRadar)
A feature introduced in iOS 9, this enables you and your family to share an account, such as content, photos, videos, and approve some purchases.
In iOS 16, it’s getting easier to set age-appropriate content for your kids, with time away settings, and a quick start for your iPad. Here, you can bring your iPhone close to the tablet, and all the settings you’ve configured, will move over to the iPad.
You can also respond to Screen Time requests in Messages.
There’s also a Family Checklist, making it easier for you to be confident that all of the content is secure and child-safe.
iCloud Shared Photo Library is something that’s been long-requested, where you can share up to five other people. You can either share all your content, or specific photos. Perhaps photos that had tags of you and your family, or from a specific date.
There’s other benefits, such as captions, comments and filters that your kids may create for existing photos, so these will sync over to your device.
Safety Check
Coming to iOS 16, Apple is introducing this feature to help those in need, where users can check granted access with others for your account, and can quickly revoke access to those who have been allowed to view your content.
You can also stop sharing your location, and protects access to your messages.
Home
(Image credit: TechRadar)
Alongside a partnership with Matter, the Home app is finally seeing a redesign, with a better view for your rooms and smart appliances.
You can see all your rooms in a single view, alongside categories for lights, climate, security and more.
When you tap on a category, you see more detailed status information, and up to four cameras to view at once.
Tiles are also redesigned, with better ways to tell which light is what.
Apple TV+ series heads to a different planet, but this version of history is still guided by the same handful of people (and the baggage that comes with them).
The astronauts in “For All Mankind” are icons of their world. In this branch of the Space Race multiverse, where the battle for supremacy beyond the atmosphere is the stuff of headlines and not 50th anniversary specials, the two Cold War powers operate like the bygone studio system. People in restrictive contracts, marketing stars to gin up extra publicity, culture-rocking events that have massive geopolitical ramifications, and extreme burnout on a grand scale.
Now in Season 3, the astronauts who made up the initial space program have each taken on their own kind of mythical status. Those who have died sacrificial deaths have been memorialized. Some who are still living have become infamous departmental legends and others have become even more prominent national figures. Over the show’s nearly three decades of story, the early Apollo astronauts have become not just household names but monumental figures of public life.
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So there’s something operatic about the idea that this same handful of individuals have become a tiny collection of interplanetary Forrest Gumps, present for each new important development in humanity’s expansion outward into the cosmos. Margo Madison (Wrenn Schmidt) is still the main decision-maker at NASA, Ellen Wilson (Jodi Balfour) is deep into an ambitious political career, Danielle Poole (Krys Marshall) is a leading commander and pilot within the astronaut ranks, Karen Baldwin (Shantel VanSanten) is an ascendant entrepreneur, and Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) is still the disgruntled, chip-on-his-shoulder Ed that’s been wrestling with his own regrets and mortality since the show’s opening episode.
“For All Mankind”
Patrick McElhenney/Apple TV+
While it makes sense to follow through how this narrow group’s accomplishments and actions reverberate throughout an entire generation, the Season 2 finale promise of landing someone on the surface of Mars brought with it the possibility of a completely reshaped ‘90s. The show’s second season also brought in the adult versions of youngsters Aleida Rosales (Coral Peña) and Danny Stevens (Casey W. Johnson), expanding the show’s central roster to show how the choices of their elders trickled down to those who looked up to them. Yet, this season returns to the same few people as globally relevant difference-makers, even to the point where that sense of recycling and entitlement becomes a key early plot point.
Part of that has been the show’s design from the start. This is a show that is still content to shoehorn in a parade of Bizarro World headlines that feel content to remix world history rather than forge a distinct path. This is also a universe where some lingering interfamily squabbles have infinitely more effect on humanity’s technological, scientific, and cultural understanding than the murder of a world leader glancingly acknowledged in the season’s opening minute and never really acknowledged again.
Dev Ayesa (Edi Gathegi) feels like a natural corrective. He arrives as the hotshot private enterprise tech CEO trendsetter, who does all but say that he’s going to “disrupt” the mid-‘90s. Gathegi brings a much-needed level-headedness, making Dev more of an internalized technological showboat than a boisterous blowhard who would throw off the show’s calibration. But even then, like the other cast additions in this season, he’s swallowed up by the immense gravitational pull of the Baldwin family, who as a unit have an effect on the world more than any group with another surname.
Having that past history between the key players in this season’s voyage-to-Mars drama means lighting more and more matches near the industrial fuel tanker of space travel. “For All Mankind” has always been shrewd about showing the domino-like nature of problems up in the air. Small issues balloon, and not just when it comes to errant debris or system malfunctions. Away from the comfort and safety of a home planet, everything becomes interconnected and delicate to a degree that this show more than understands. But the idea that it’s same few people and their long-simmering uneasiness that kicks off so many of these problems is what keeps this show from truly feeling like a daring, expansive use of the storytelling tools at its disposal.
“For All Mankind”
Patrick McElhenney/Apple TV+
Even with Mars on the horizon, most of these characters are still locked into modes we’ve seen them in for years now: Ed is the untrusting workaholic, Danny still hasn’t forgiven his parents, Margo is still trying to balance her incredible job demands with a few tiny slivers of deep personal connection. One area where Season 3 manages to cover new ground is with Karen, who gradually becomes the most valuable piece of these new episodes. Karen still carries the deep sadness of losing one child and the physical distance from another, yet this season doesn’t restrict her to those. Her desire to make something of her own gives her a different path to forge. VanSanten finds a new kind of calm determination in the character, taking Karen beyond being a grieving mother and into a more active relationship to this strange interconnected effort to live beyond Earth itself.
On a technical side, “For All Mankind” still excels at its own logistical demands. Production designer Dan Bishop continues to thread the needle of this imagined new technological reality, particularly as things progress further away from Houston. There’s an efficiency with how the show sets up the demands of these missions without oversimplifying the legwork that all these team members are doing outside the moments we see them on screen. The ship designs and the control room interiors are functional without being sterile, particularly as this season shows multiple possible approaches to the same ends.
Yet those achievements are still contained within a show that often feels all-or-nothing. Effective in its quiet moments and in the sequences where catastrophe strikes, “For All Mankind” still struggles with that middle ground. The steps to get between the two often feel tenuous, and it doesn’t help when old friends and foes are pushed together with cosmic implications or given particular roles to keep them in the fold. Plenty of Season 3 moments arise from certain characters’ stubbornness to relinquish the past and embrace a new set of possibilities with fresh people at the lead. “For All Mankind” still manages to be a compelling, propulsive show, even if it often falls prey to that same idea.
Grade: B-
“For All Mankind” Season 3 premieres Friday, June 10 on Apple TV+.
Amber Heard‘s sister Whitney has praised the movie star in a message of support on social media.
The 34-year-old declared to her nearly 30K Instagram followers that ‘the truth is forever on your side’ following the verdict in the actress’ legal battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp.
The 36-year-old Aquaman star was found by a jury in Fairfax, Virginia, to have defamed her ex in an article in which she claimed she was a victim of domestic abuse. Depp was awarded $15million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Proud of her: Amber Heard’s sister Whitney has praised her movie star sibling for ‘standing up for yourself’
She was by her side: Whitney is seen far left with Amber, far right, in Virginia on June 1
Heard’s sister had also testified on her behalf during the case.
Whitney shared a post on Instagram which read: ‘I still stand with you, sissy.
‘Yesterday, today and tomorrow I will always be proud of you for standing up for yourself, for testifying both here in Virginia and in the UK, and for being the voice of so many who can’t speak to the things that happen behind closed doors.’
Whitney then shared: ‘We knew that this was going to be an uphill battle and that the cards were stacked against us. But you stood up and spoke out regardless.’
I stand with Amber: The 34-year-old declared to her nearly 30K Instagram followers that ‘the truth is forever on your side’ following the verdict in the actress’ legal battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp
Her ex: Pirates Of The Caribbean star Depp seen on the stand in Virginia in late April
Stressed Amber: Whitney shared a post on Instagram which read: ‘I still stand with you, sissy’
Whitney insisted she felt ‘honored’ to have been able to testify during the defamation trial on behalf of her sibling and says she’s sorry the jury didn’t find in her favor.
She added: ‘I am so honored to testify for you, and I would do it a million times over because I know what I saw and because the truth is forever on your side.
‘I’m so sorry that it wasn’t reflected in the decision made by this jury, but I will never give up on you, and neither will anyone who stands with you. Forever by your side… #istandwithamberheard.’
Depp sued Heard for $50million for defamation following the publication of a 2018 piece in The Washington Post in which she alleged she was a victim of domestic abuse but had not named him specifically.
There for family: The sister continued, ‘Yesterday, today and tomorrow I will always be proud of you for standing up for yourself, for testifying both here in Virginia and in the UK, and for being the voice of so many who can’t speak to the things that happen behind closed doors’
Hard to take: ‘We knew that this was going to be an uphill battle and that the cards were stacked against us. But you stood up and spoke out regardless,’ added Whitney
I’ll be there for you: Whitney insisted she felt ‘honored’ to have been able to testify during the defamation trial on behalf of her sibling and says she’s sorry the jury didn’t find in her favor
The jury found that the actress had acted with ‘malice’ and awarded Depp $15million in damages.
Heard had countersued her ex for $100million and the jury awarded her $2million in punitive damages.
The actress released a statement after the court case, admitting to being ‘heartbroken’ by the decision.
Always there: ‘I’m so sorry that it wasn’t reflected in the decision made by this jury, but I will never give up on you, and neither will anyone who stands with you. Forever by your side… #istandwithamberheard,’ she also wrote. Seen on May 25
She said: ‘The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.
‘I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women.
‘It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.’
The actress also claimed that the jury overlooked ‘the key issue of freedom of speech’.
She added: ‘I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly.’
Since the verdict was announced, Depp has been celebrating in England as he spent $62,000 on a curry dinner and before that played guitar on stage with Jeff Beck.
They were once a power couple: Johnny and Amber hand in hand at the Met Gala in 2014
RLJE Films has released a brand-new trailer for their forthcoming western action film Murder at Yellowstone City, starring Thomas Jane.
RLJE Films has released a brand-new trailer for their forthcoming western action film Murder at Yellowstone City, starring Thomas Jane. Set in the once peaceful and booming Yellowstone City, the story revolves around a sheriff who accuses a mysterious newcomer of the murder of a local prospector. However, as the murders continue, the secrets of the sleepy Western town’s inhabitants spark a bloody showdown that not all will survive. Alongside Jane, the film features a cast boasting the likes of Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws), Nat Wolff (Hereditary), Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects), Isaiah Mustafa, Anna Camp, and Aimee Garcia.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
Now, RLJE Films has dropped a brand-new trailer for Murder at Yellowstone City, putting the spotlight on Thomas Jane and the Western setting with a murder-mystery twist. The trailer begins with characters describing the town as an “evil place,” which brings “nothing but destruction and disaster.” The trailer continues with the sheriff (Byrne) playing out as a dictator in charge of investigating a murder and wrongfully accusing a suspect. Things get more complicated when the occupants get involved, and the bullets start to fly. Check out the full trailer below:
Best known for appearing in films like 1998’s Boogies Nights and the 2007 film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Mist,Thomas Jane has kept himself busy. However, his most recent noteworthy role would arguably be in the popular Amazon sci-fi series The Expanse.Murder at Yellowstone City marks his first collaboration with Australian director Richard Gray in what promises to be a riveting Western tale, alongside a talented cast. Audiences can check out Murder at Yellowstone City when the film hits theatres on June 24th.
We’ve officially heard that Neve Campbell won’t be reprising her role as Sidney Prescott in Paramount/Spyglass Media’s Scream 6.
Word began to leak on the convention circuit with Campbell, and she says today, “Sadly I won’t be making the next Scream film.”
“As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream,” the actress says about her turn in the $744M-plus grossing global franchise, “I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.”
“It’s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my Scream fans, I love you. You’ve always been so incredibly supportive to me. I’m forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past 25 years,” adds Campbell.
Campbell currently stars on the Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer. Deadline recently reported that she’s joined the cast of Peacock‘s Twisted Metal in a recurring role as Raven opposite Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, and Thomas Haden Church.
The hosts of “The View” are very, very hopeful that Americans will make a point to watch the upcoming hearings of the Jan. 6 committee. At the very least, they hope it’s given the same amount of attention as the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
Starting this Thursday, testimony from some key players in Donald Trump’s administration about the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6 will be televised, including that of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney has said that these hearings need to be appointment television for all Americans, and the hosts of “The View” largely agreed.
“It’s at least as important as Amber Heard and Johnny Depp,” Whoopi said seriously. “So people should make sure that they’re watching.”
You can watch the full segment from “The View” in the video above.
Host Sara Haines argued that it’s actually a bit of an obligation for people to watch, regardless of their political affiliations and beliefs.
“I do think everyone should watch this. And this isn’t about — I want the people that were there that day to watch it. I want people on the far right that believe in conspiracy theories,” Haines said. “I think everyone owes it to this country to stop for a minute and watch it and let — decide on your own. If you walk away and still think this is crap, that’s fine. But I think it’s important because this was where so many people, even extreme supporters said, this was a step too far.”
Meanwhile, Whoopi Goldberg criticized Republican representative Elise Stefanik, for her repeated promises that she and other Republicans will be “all over the airwaves” as part of ongoing efforts to illustrate “how unprecedented and unconstitutional and illegitimate this committee is.”
“I kind of feel like you’re doing this before you even know what’s going on,” Whoopi said. “You’re already saying ‘What happened was…’ And when people start the conversation with ‘What happened was…’, it means they don’t want you to know what actually happened. Because if they really wanted you to know, they would have been on the committee, to get their story out there, to show you where this was going to be wrong. See, that’s when you know BS is happening.”
What better way to celebrate both the start of summer and the start of Pride month than a beach vacation to Fire Island with Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang? Written by Booster, who based the film on his and Yang’s many trips to the island in their 20s, Fire Islandcleverly applies the class politics and romance of Pride and Prejudice to the modern gay dating scene. The result is a sweet, funny, and whip-smart romantic comedy about all the things there are to both celebrate and criticize about the queer community. Plus, this movie has a boatload of queers screaming and cheering and waving rainbow flags while two men kiss on the beach. If that doesn’t say “Happy Pride,” I don’t know what does!
Ethan Hawke presented the award to FX’s Indigenous-centric comedy, co-created by Taika Waititi and Sterlin Harjo, in the below video, calling Reservation Dogs a “brilliant coming-of-age series [that] is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”
The show, which features all-Indigenous writers, directors and series regulars, follows four Native American teenagers in rural Oklahoma as they steal, rob and save to get to California.
Both Hawke, and the Peabody Awards, in its official blurb announcing Reservation Dogs‘ win, said the show, which premiered last summer, is “long overdue.”
“With its completely bizarre and droll sense of humor and its breakout young cast, this show takes us on a welcome surreal journey that vividly captures a defiant joy,” Hawke said, highlighting the series’ “heartfelt portrayal of being young and native in modern America.”
In his pre-recorded video acceptance speech, Harjo spoke about the importance of expressing authentic experiences.
“Just to be able to tell these stories and share our lives through Reservation Dogs, I think that’s where the magic comes from because they’re real stories and they’re about real people and FX gave us the freedom to do that so really thankful for that,” Harjo said.
The win, he added, encourages him to “keep creating and support other artists of underrepresented communities to keep telling their stories because it’s important.”
“It’s important to have people tell their own stories. The proof is here,” he said. “Whenever you let people tell their stories, it shows and the quality of the work is better. No one’s asking for a handout, just an opportunity to tell our stories.”
Harjo also thanked the show’s cast, producers, crew and FX executives for their support.
“There are so many people that put their hearts and souls in this story,” he said.
Björk, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, and now Billie Eilish.
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has commenced in California, and Billie Eilish has made history. She was the fifth woman to headline the festival since it was first held in October 1999. The 20-year-old also became its youngest headliner after playing a 90-minute show on Saturday night.
Billie Eilish adds to her history-making career during her Coachella appearance.
Eilish addressed her history-making moment during her performance by telling the crowd, “I should not be headlining this s***!” She continued, “but I’m so f***ing grateful that I’m here and that you guys are all here. This is such a dream come true. I feel crazy.” She also closed the show by saying, “Thank you, Coachella! I’m sorry I’m not Beyoncé. I love you, goodnight.”
Her appearance was filled with guests. Although many of her concerts include appearances from her brother Finneas, the night also saw appearances from Khalid, Pos, and Damon Albarn. Khalid assisted Eilish in performing their 2018 duet “Lovely”. Damon Albarn, made a rare appearance, as the lead singer of Blur and Gorillaz.
While Eilish will also return to the Coachella stage on Saturday, April 23, to finish her appearance at the festival, she will make history one more time when she becomes the youngest headliner ever at the Glastonbury Festival. The festival is considered one of the largest in the world and is a five-day music festival held in England.
She adds her accomplishments to her recent Academy Award for Best Song, which she took home for “No Time to Die” from the film No Time to Die.
Are you keeping up with Coachella? Who is your favorite performer? Sound off below! We would love to hear from you.
In another loaded double-guest episode, Kenny and Robert begin the show chatting with mega-talent Isobel Waller-Bridge, composer of Emma (2020), Fleabag, Vita & Virginia and more! Isobel shares stories of early collaborations writing songs with her sister Phoebe, why she likes to sneak “easter egg” sounds and lyrics into her scores and why she loves to tackle musical projects outside of her wheelhouse.
Subscribe to MORE SCORE on Patreon for year-round interviews, film music talk and even cool merch: http://Patreon.com/MoreScore
Later, Emmy and Grammy-winning composer Mark Isham (HBO’s The Nevers, Godfather of Harlem, Judas and the Black Messiah, Bill & Ted Face the Music, Crash (2004), A River Runs Through It, Once Upon a Time and so many more) joins the show sharing his unbelievable tale of how he got his first film scoring gig that involved a lot of luck, explains how scoring for TV has drastically changed over the course of his career, reveals why he got fired from the 1995 film Waterworld and what he’s learned from experiences like that, and why he is motivated to collaborate with first-time film composers.
This episode is presented by Spitfire Audio
Follow us on Twitter @ScoreThePodcast or send Kenny and Robert your questions for the mailbox at ScoreTheMailbox@epicleff.com
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The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is buying a minority stake in three DP World assets in the United Arab Emirates for US$5 billion.
The Quebec pension fund manager will invest US$2.5 billion in Jebel Ali Port, Jebel Ali Free Zone and National Industrial Park through a new joint venture in which it will hold a stake of around 22 per cent. It will finance the rest of the deal with debt.
Other long-term investors will have the opportunity to also acquire a stake of up to US$3 billion.
In a news release, the Caisse says the transaction implies a total enterprise value of about US$23 billion for the three assets.
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The port of Jebel Ali is touted as the second largest outside of Asia, located to serve the trade corridor linking West and East through its connections to 150 cities around the world. The Jebel Ali Free Zone is the largest in the Middle East, with companies from 140 countries, including 150 Fortune businesses.
Quebec and Montreal to take over massive transit project REM de l’Est from CDPQ Infra
DP World chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem says the transaction reduces its leverage amid the pandemic and recent global economic conditions.
“Today, we are pleased to deepen our long-standing relationship with a world-class logistics and supply chain operator by investing in this strategic trade infrastructure, one that will play a pivotal role in the evolution of the global economy,” adds Emmanuel Jaclot, head of infrastructure at the Caisse.
The partnership with DP World involves 18 terminals in four continents.
The first tranche of the transaction, for US$5 billion, is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2022, and the closing of the second tranche, up to US$3 billion, is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Season 3 of Netflix’sLocke & Key will premiere August 10, the streamer revealed today as part of its annual Geeked Week. As Deadline revealed exclusively in April, the upcoming third season will be the supernatural thriller series’ last. Netflix also released a teaser trailer that gives a first look at Locke & Key‘s final chapter.
“The past is always with us, you can try to run away but it’s always there,” an ominous voiceover says in the opening seconds of the trailer, leading to a montage of Season 3 footage (You can watch it above).
As Deadline reported, the adaptation of the IDW comic books by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez is getting a proper conclusion since Season 3 was conceived as the show’s final chapter.
“As storytellers, we are grateful that we had the opportunity to tell our version of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s incredible story exactly the way we wanted,” Locke & Key executive producers/co-showrunners Carlton Cuse and Meredith Averill said in a statement to Deadline in April.
The coming-of-age supernatural drama follows the Locke siblings after their father is murdered under mysterious circumstances. The three siblings and their mother move into their ancestral home, Keyhouse, which they discover is full of magical keys that may be connected to their father’s death. As the Locke children explore the different keys and their unique powers, a mysterious demon awakens — and will stop at nothing to steal them.
Locke and Key‘s Season 3 principal cast includes Darby Stanchfield, Connor Jessup, Emilia Jones, Jackson Robert Scott, Brendan Hines, Sherri Saum, Kevin Durand and Coby Bird.
Cuse and Averill serve as co-showrunners on the show, which comes from IDW Entertainment. They exec produce Season 3 alongside John Weber for Take 5, Frank Siracusa of Whizbang Films, Kevin Lafferty, Joe Hill, Ted Adams, Chris Ryall and Lydia Antonini for IDW, and Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, David Alpert and Rick Jacobs for Circle of Confusion.
“Sweet Tooth,” Netflix’s surprisingly light-hearted live-action adaptation of the much darker DC comic book of the same name, will return for a second season in the coming months. But Netflix knows fans are craving an update more than 12 months after the show’s debut.
In a new behind-the-scenes video released for Netflix’s Geeked Week event, the cast celebrates the wrap of production on Season 2 on location in New Zealand and promises the wait for new episodes will be well worth it.
“It’s been a long journey and it’s been very hard work,” Nonso Anozie, who plays the lovably gruff Tommy “Big Man” Jepperd, said in the video. “But it’s been amazing fun and I can’t wait to share with you what happens in Season 2.”
“Sweet Tooth” follows a precocious young boy who is half-human and half-deer, part of a new animal-human hybrid race born during a viral pandemic known as the Sick, which eliminated the majority of the world’s human population. After society collapses, these hybrid children are hunted by evil forces who blame them for the disease. According to the cast, Season 2 is even more ambitious in scope and scale than the show’s rookie run.
“The stakes are higher. The battles are bigger. The mean guys are meaner,” Dania Ramirez, who plays former therapist and hybrid protector Aimee Eden, said.
“Sweet Tooth” and its eight-episode first season debuted on Netflix June 4, 2021. It garnered 794 minutes of viewership in the United States in its debut weekend, according to Nielsen. From June 6-13 of last year, it generated a whopping 1.434 billion minutes of viewership. From June 28, 2021-July 1, 2021 — the first week Netflix ever provided global viewership hours for — “Sweet Tooth” saw 21.35 million hours of viewership across the world.
This strong start in both the U.S. and international territories led Netflix to renew the series, which is executive produced by Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Amanda Burrell, Linda Moran and Beth Schwartz, for a second season on July 29.
The cast video owns with Netflix promising that Season 2 is “coming soon.”
In case you didn’t hear the sound of the Beyhive screaming in the distance, Beyoncé is back on Instagram and the world is a bit brighter.
The Lemonade singer posted a set of retro-filtered photos to mark her return back to the ‘gram after a 3-month hiatus, posing in a purple, red, and black floral midi dress. Her high-slit garment, layered over what appears to be a lace bra, matches her gloves. Maybe she watched Bridgerton during her social media break?
Accessorizing with a black mini bag, diamond hoop earrings and a similarly-studded bangle, Beyoncé looked stunning. As with her previous posts, the singer skipped the caption, leaving the photo to speak for itself.
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Per Hollywood Life, Beyoncé wore the look on a rare lunch date with husband Jay-Z in New York. Even though it feels like a swamp in New York City right now with summer temperatures starting to climb, Beyoncé is Beyoncé: She wore a black suit jacket over the look. Sweating can’t stop the Queen from serving a look.
Previously, the mother of three posted her 2022 Academy Awards looks—including the sheer embellished Celia Kritharioti gown, which she wore to the Oscars after party. She was nominated for Best Original Song for “Be Alive” from Will Smith’s King Richard, about Venus and Serena Williams’ father. She opened the Oscars with a rendition of the song performed at a tennis court in Compton, the sisters’ hometown.
Her latest pics might not be as glitzy as her Oscars posts, but we’ll take them. Glad to have you back, Bey.
Across Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy, we’ve not only seen Peter Parker and MJ’s love bloom; off-screen, the Spidey actor and Zendaya have gone from co-stars to friends to sweethearts over the years. In celebration of Holland’s 26th birthday today, Zendaya took to social media to share a cute photo and say that actor makes her the “happiest.”
AWW, am I right? Take a look at Zendaya’s black and white Instagram post of her and Tom Holland looking blissful together:
In the caption, Zendaya said “Happiest of birthdays to the one who makes me the happiest <3,” which instantly sends many hearts aflutter in excitement for the pair. The two Marvel actors have known each other since 2016, when they were co-stars in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Over the past six years, they have shared an incredible journey together as they filmed the most recent Spider-Man trilogy and did press all over the world.
After years of rumors that Tom Holland and Zendaya could perhaps be more than co-stars and friends, the paparazzi caught them smooching last summer. Since then, the pair have remained professional, but hinted a bit more about their relationship. For Zendaya’s birthday this past September, Holland posted a viral photo with a caption calling her “My MJ” and asking her to call him when she’s up. Check it out:
Since it’s been out there that they’ve been dating, the couple have dropped some cute hints at their admiration of one another on social media. Tom Holland memorably posted a number of Zendaya’s red carpet looks for events like the Dune premiere with heart-eyes in reaction to her fashion moments.
Every Spider-Man couple in the movies thus far has led to off-screen relationships, but so far Tom Holland and Zendaya’s relationship is proving the most iconic. Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst dated during the first Spider-Man movie and reportedly split by the sequel. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone also dated after meeting on The Amazing Spider-Man between 2011 and 2015.
In the most recent press tour for Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tom Holland and Zendaya had magnetic chemistry in interviews. In one funny moment, Zendaya revealed a cute impression of Holland in his Billy Elliot era after apparently going down a Tom Holland rabbit hole on YouTube. You can, of course, check out CinemaBlend’s fun interviews with Tom Holland, Zendaya and the rest of the Spider-Man: No Way Home cast and reminisce on those good times before we knew all the incredible surprises of the December release.
It’s so sweet to see Zendaya and Tom Holland happy together and showing it off on social media. The pair do not have another Marvel movie in the works yet, but we’ll update you here on CinemaBlend as soon as Spider-Man-related news comes our way.
Tom Cruise’s star-spangled blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” soared higher than expected in its second weekend of release.
The Paramount and Skydance movie collected $90 million over the weekend, above Sunday’s already massive estimate of $86 million. Thanks to positive word of mouth, rapturous reviews and premium screens, ticket sales declined only 29% in its second weekend — the lowest percentage in history for a movie that debuted to $100 million or more, according to Comscore. “Top Gun: Maverick” launched to a staggering $160 million over the long Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Though a peculiar statistic, the scant second-weekend drop is impressive because big-budget blockbusters — even well-received ones — tend to plummet by at least 50% after scoring huge opening weekends. By comparison, recent tentpoles “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” each declined 67% in their sophomore outings, while Robert Pattinson’s “The Batman” fell 50% in week two.
After only 10 days in theaters, “Top Gun: Maverick” has grossed $295 million at the domestic box office, enough to overtake 2005’s “War of the Worlds” ($243 million) as Cruise’s highest-grossing film in North America. Pandemic or not, it is a stunning result — and ticket sales will certainly keep climbing — for a movie that doesn’t involve costumed heroes, otherworldly creatures or fantastical spells.
Internationally, the sequel to 1986’s “Top Gun” has earned $257 million, taking its global total past the $550 million mark. Even by pre-COVID standards, the $170 million-budgeted “Maverick” is putting box office expectations to shame with its high-flying turnout in theaters.
At this rate, “Top Gun: Maverick” looks like it’ll become Cruise’s biggest movie at the global box office. “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” which collected $791 million worldwide in 2018, currently stands as the actor’s highest-grossing blockbuster of all time. His other top-earning tentpoles include 2011’s “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” ($695 million globally), 2015’s “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” ($683 million globally) and “War of the Worlds” ($603 million globally).
As long as “Top Gun: Maverick” is able to sustain its popularity over the summer (and why wouldn’t it?), analysts believe box office returns could surpass $900 million by the end of its theatrical run. Could the $1 billion mark be within reach? It’ll be harder without playing in China or Russia. But, according to industry insiders, it’s not out of the question.
“It has never been more appropriate to say ‘the sky’s the limit’ for ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’” Paramount’s president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson wrote on Sunday in a note to press.
Joseph Kosinski directed “Top Gun: Maverick,” which has a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and holds an “A+” CinemaScore. In the nostalgia-fueled movie, Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchells returns to the cockpit for the first time in decades to train a new group of cocky aviators for a deadly mission. Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly and Val Kilmer, who played Iceman in the first “Top Gun,” round out the cast.
Though “Maverick” did not face any notable competition over the weekend, it’ll soon take on Universal’s dino-sized tentpole “Jurassic World Dominion,” starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill and Laura Dern. Let the battle of the blockbusters commence!
“Dark Winds” may seem similar to other detective shows but it’s more than that.
There’s a moment in “Dark Winds” that sticks with the audience. A young Native woman visits a doctor. She is pregnant and the doctor urges her to have her baby in a proper hospital and not at home. His nurse is meant to act as translator. She tells the girl that while the doctor wants her to go to the hospital, it’s only so they can forcibly sterilize her after she gives birth. Though comparisons to “True Detective” and “Mare of Easttown” will crop up when discussing this series, it seeks to tell a deeper story within the murder format — one focused on the casual mistreatment of those living on Navajo reservations as well as American Indians in general.
Set in 1971 on a remote outpost of the Navajo Nation near Monument Valley, we meet Sheriff Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon). Leaphorn is a good sheriff, but his personal life is a mess after losing his son. He’s given a new Deputy Sheriff, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), who claims to be working with Leaphorn but has his own reasons for being there. The two are quickly pulled into investigating a double murder that the FBI is only interested in solving because a high-profile bank robbery has taken place nearby and the thieves are rumored to be on the reservation.
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The series starts with a bang involving a daring daylight robbery that includes faux police and a helicopter. It doesn’t take long for the audience to understand this is a crime that took serious manpower to pull off, and yet after this introduction the robbery become a small blip for the leads of “Dark Winds.” In this case, Leaphorn is trying to solve who murdered an elderly man and a teenage girl, the latter having a personal connection to him. And yet, FBI agent Whitover (Noah Emmerich), whom Leaphorn dubs “High Pockets,” couldn’t care less. The FBI is concerned about it because, as Leaphorn says, it’s “white problems.” And while things eventually turn back around to connect the bank robbery to the murder it’s a blistering set-up for how crime is categorized differently when it involves Indigenous populations.
There’s very little fat to the show’s six episodes, which all clock around 45 minutes, leading to a breathless pace as Leaphorn and Chee try to solve the crime. And yet, within that crime is a beautiful story of identity, family, and life on a reservation that audiences haven’t seen. Chee’s introduction sets the tone, as he speeds through town in his black Ford Ranchero, refusing to help a family stranded on the side of the road.
For him, the reservation is a town he’s left behind, due to rumors about his family. He’s assimilated and assimilation is a big issue throughout the series, with Leaphorn being resistant to it because of his own upbringing and Chee welcoming it. It’s why Emmerich’s Whitover is such a skeezy villain, because he lords his whiteness (and privilege) over Chee and Leaphorn. A conversation between Chee and Whitover at a hotel speaks volumes as Whitover talks about how Old Hollywood Western stars once stayed there only for Chee to ask, “Where did the Indians sleep?” Gordon’s cockiness underlies a character who has felt let down and abandoned by his people. The actor’s chemistry with Jessica Matten, who plays fellow officer Bernadette Manuelito, is charming in that both characters want to be known for who they are, and that includes both their Native and non-Native identities.
It’s interesting that “Dark Winds” often feels like an old-school film noir, with Leaphorn as the beleaguered, troubled detective not unlike someone out of a Raymond Chandler novel. McClarnon is always a welcome presence to see on-screen and he is utterly magnetic as Joe Leaphorn. Whether he’s investigating a crime scene, trying to work with Chee as his partner, or sitting in silence opposite his wife, Emma (Deanna Allison), McClarnon’s face is a storm of different emotions. Leaphorn, as a character, wears decades of trauma, love, and loss, and McClarnon captures it all. McClarnon has been working in Hollywood since the early ’90s — his appearance in anything is a sign of quality — so, if anything, “Dark Winds” should prove he’s a serious leading man. He’s complemented by Allison who, like nearly every character in the series, has her own fascinating backstory involving the aforementioned pregnant young woman.
Each character feels like a real person who has lived a rich life before entering the reservation, and with the taut screenwriting the series explores everything from forced sterilization to mining interests using reservation lands for oil. Though set in the past it’s clear that none of these issues have ever been reckoned with. Each character holds them tight and we’re still seeing these same feelings of anger and questions of identity permeate Indigenous characters on other networks. They haven’t forgotten, and neither will the audience. Even those perpetuating the crimes have a logic and deep-seated history on why they’re doing what they’re doing and, at times, it becomes a more engaging plotline than the murders themselves.
“Dark Winds” may seem similar to other detective shows but it’s more than that. With well-written and sharply defined characters, plus an invigorating and tightly wound story, it’ll be hard to wait a week for each episode to drop.
Grade: A
“Dark Winds” airs Sundays on AMC and AMC+ starting June 12.
The Protectors (1972) was an action thriller television series produced by ITV that premiered in September of 1972.
The Protectors (1972) was a British action thriller series created by Gerry Anderson (Thunderbirds) about an international group of rich troubleshooters. Contessa di Contini (played by Nyree Dawn Porter), Paul Buchet (played by Tony Anholt) and Harry Rule (played by Robert Vaughn) helped innocent people around the world.
The Protectors (1972) aired two seasons.
Episode List
Season 1
1 – 2,000 Ft to Die. (S01E01 – 101)
2 – Brother Hood (S01E02 – 102)
3 – See No Evil (S01E03 – 103)
4 – Disappearing Trick (S01E04 – 104)
5 – Ceremony for the Dead (S01E05 – 105)
6 – It Was All Over in Leipzig (S01E06 – 106)
7 – The Quick Brown Fox (S01E07 – 107)
8 – King Con (S01E08 – 108)
9 – Thinkback (S01E09 – 109)
10 – A Kind of Wild Justice (S01E10 – 110)
11 – Balance of Terror (S01E11 – 111)
12 – Triple Cross (S01E12 – 112)
13 – The Numbers Game (S01E13 – 113)
14 – For the Rest of Your Natural… (S01E14 – 114)
15 – The Bodyguards (S01E15 – 115)
16 – A Matter of Life and Death (S01E16 – 116)
17 – The Big Hit (S01E17 – 117)
18 – One and One Makes One (S01E18 – 118)
19 – Talkdown (S01E19 – 119)
20 – Vocal (S01E20 – 120)
21 – … With a Little Help from My Friends (S01E21 – 121)
22 – Chase (S01E22 – 122)
23 – Your Witness (S01E23 – 123)
24 – It Could Be Practically Anywhere on the Island (S01E24 – 124)
The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said Monday that Ava DuVernay will receive the group’s 2022 Founders Award, to be presented during the academy’s awards gala in November.
IATAS cited DuVernay’s Emmy-winning 2019’s Netflix miniseries When They See Us as well as her work leading her company Array, along with credits that include Selma, 13th and Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time, the latter of which made her the highest-grossing Black woman director ever at the U.S. box office.
“Ava DuVernay is a force of nature and this is reflected in the remarkable scope and volume of her work,” said International Academy president and CEO Bruce L. Paisner. “She makes significant films and television programs, she uses her platform to reshape our industry and continues to lead a career-long effort to bolster women and people of color in entertainment and ensure inclusivity. We look forward to honoring her extraordinary talent and prolific decade of leadership at Array, with our Founders Award.”
DuVernay, who also is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ board of governors, founded and oversees the nonprofit collective Array, which develops, produces and distributes works driven by people of color and women. Array Filmworks’ credits include OWN’s Queen Sugar, Netflix’s Colin in Black and White, HBO Max’s DMZ and CW’s Naomi among others.
Up next for DuVernay: She is writing, directing and producing the film adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s bestselling nonfiction book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent for Netflix, and last month she scored a deal for a romantic drama at Starz toplined by Lauren Ridloff and Joshua Jackson.
“This honor from the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is unexpected and wildly appreciated,” said DuVernay today. “I thank the organization for recognizing my work and salute their efforts to ensure that storytellers of all backgrounds are amplified and celebrated.”
Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in Ms. MarvelPhoto: Daniel McFadden/Marvel Studios
Step aside, Spider-Man: There’s a new friendly neighborhood superhero in town. Come June 8, Kamala Khan, to drop her non-made-up name, will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the small screen in Disney+’s Ms. Marvel before transitioning to the big screen next summer in The Marvels, the second Captain Marvel film.
In her day-to-day life, Kamala shares more in common with Parker than with the other Avengers we’ve met previously. Concerned with surviving high school, school bullies, crushes, and an overprotective family, Kamala’s story is, like Peter’s, about a teenager who’s trying to get by while dealing with some (mostly) cool powers. (They also both grow up across the river from Manhattan. She’s in Jersey City, and he’s in Forest Hills, Queens, so they’re different rivers. But still.)
But Kamala’s is also a tale about feeling out of place, being a second-generation immigrant, and learning how to become a good human being. So how did she end up a superhero, anyway? And where, exactly, does she fit in the MCU? Let’s dig in.
Who is Kamala Khan?
When we meet her in the comics, Kamala is living with her older brother, Amir, and her parents, who are immigrants from Pakistan.
Unlike a lot of other superheroes (Captain America, Spider-Man, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff … the list goes on and on and on and on), Kamala hasn’t experienced huge personal tragedy. She has a happy home life, barring the usual teenage angst and children-of-immigrants rebellion. With loving parents, she doesn’t have the impetus to create a found family like many superheroes do, which means the Ms. Marvel comics can instead focus on other issues. (We’ll get to those later.)
As well as family, Kamala has a couple of really close friends, meaning she’s not isolated at school, either. She hangs out at the local Circle Q, where Bruno (who has a crush on her) works, and she spends most of her time with her bestie Nakia.
Kamala is, to put it mildly, a massive fan of superheroes: She writes fan fiction about The Avengers, and if she existed in real life she’d be updating her latest fic daily. (She’d also be willing and able to lecture everyone about how the best way to search AO3 is to order stories by kudos, as any other method is simply wrong and will guarantee you just see badly written, incomplete fics.)
Oh, and there’s the small fact that Kamala Khan made history as the first Muslim superhero to headline their own Marvel comic book, which launched in 2014 and was authored by G. Willow Wilson and illustrated by Adrian Alphona. Prior to that, she’d been spotted in the background of a scene in a Captain Marvel comic book in 2013, which brings us nicely to….
Who is Ms. Marvel?
Ms. Marvel is the moniker taken by Kamala when she gets her superpowers. The name was previously used by Carol Danvers, but since she became Captain Marvel, it was up for grabs. Like Captain Marvel, Kamala is one of the Inhumans. Her powers are triggered by the Terrigen Mists, released by the Terrigen Bomb. In the comics, Kamala sneaks out to a party using a handy tree outside her bedroom window and gets caught in the mists, activating her latent powers.
Ms. Marvel is a polymorph and can change herself to become really small or really big (a bit like Ant-Man). She can also isolate various body parts, like her fists, and make those larger when she’s regular human sized (a bit like Mister Fantastic). She also has the ability to heal (like Captain America), although she can only do this when she’s in her regular body. What’s more, she can look like other people (like Mystique). Basically, her powers are a mishmash of other superheroes but all with a Kamala twist. Her catchphrase? The delightful, unashamedly comic-book sounding “EMBIGGEN.”
However, expect to see a different origin story in the show and perhaps some other changes (purple glowing lights that don’t appear in the comics among them), which fans of the books are, to say the least, apprehensive about.
What other superheroes appear in Ms. Marvel?
As mentioned, Kamala is a huge fangirl. In the first issue of the comic book, while under the influence of the Terrigen Mists and in her Terrigen cocoon, Kamala has a vision of Captain Marvel, Captain America, and Iron Man.
We know Kamala is going to be in The Marvels, but we’ve yet to find out if Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel (the real, non-hallucinated version) will pop up in the show. It’s not an impossibility, since presumably some setup between the two is needed. Holding out for an episode-six credits scene is not as foolish as we might think.
Other superheroes and villains that weave in and out of the Ms. Marvel comic books include Spider-Man, Loki, and Wolverine, and many more. Kamala runs into the latter in the sewers when she’s after the Inventor (the first villain she encounters), and Marvel Comics has just announced the pair will be teaming up for Ms. Marvel & Wolverine, the first in a series of oversized one-shots by writer Jody Houser.
But even though Marvel Studios now has the rights to the X-Men, it’s highly unlikely that Wolverine will be making an appearance in the first season of the show. It’s a pity, as the pair’s first meeting provides some of the funniest moments of the comics, as an overly excited Kamala enthuses to a grizzled, very tired Wolverine. (To be fair, though, he does take the news that she writes Wolverine/Storm fan fiction pretty well.)
Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in Ms. MarvelPhoto: Marvel Studios
What does Ms. Marvel explore?
While the Ms. Marvel comics are about Kamala learning to use her powers, they’re not really about Kamala learning to use her powers. Like a lot of comic books, the powers and the superheroing within them are metaphors.
When we first meet Kamala, she’s dissatisfied with life and doesn’t feel like she fits in with her peers, most of whom are white. She’s smelling bacon (not a euphemism), wishing she could go to parties, and thinking that the cool girl at school doesn’t think she’s cool because of her brownness and Muslimness and otherness. So when she first gets her powers, she actually comes out of her Terrigenisis looking like Captain Marvel, all blonde haired, blue eyed and, yes, white. It’s because Captain Marvel seems “beautiful and awesome and butt-kicking and less complicated,” but Kamala soon realizes that whiteness and a proximity to it aren’t the answer to why she feels like she doesn’t belong.
Although Kamala hasn’t suffered big losses in her life, she is a child of immigrants who left behind their homeland and everything they knew and are trying to maintain their cultural and religious practices in an America that offers freedom—but only if you act and look and think a certain way. Caught between worlds, the Ms. Marvel comics are about a girl trying to navigate life and forge her own sense of who she is through her faith (both religiously speaking and in herself), her family, her friends, and the type of human being she wants to be.
We’ll just have to wait and see if the show captures that.
Watch Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, now streaming:
American Masters — Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool takes a hard look at the mythology that surrounds the legend. “The story of Miles Davis — who he was as a man and artist — has often been told as the tale of a drug-addled genius,” said director Stanley Nelson. “You rarely see a portrait of a man that worked hard at honing his craft, a man who deeply studied all forms of music, from Baroque to classical Indian. An elegant man who could render ballads with such tenderness yet hold rage in his heart from the racism he faced throughout his life. He could be romantic and pursue women relentlessly, yet treat them with cruelty upon winning them over. He could be extremely generous, yet rescind that generosity on a whim.”
The documentary delves into the six-decade career of the musical genius: from his days as a Julliard student to the development of his signature sound on recordings with his famous quintet, from his collaborations with Gil Evans to his shifts to new musical paradigms in the ’70s and ’80s. As the film tracks Davis’s boundary-breaking musical triumphs, the meanderings of his complicated personal life are told with intimate reflections from those closest to him. Previously unseen footage and a soundtrack full of Davis’s music are complemented by new interviews with friends, fellow musicians, collaborators and scholars to create a full portrait of the complex man. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019 and had a successful limited theatrical run, tells the story of a truly singular talent and unpacks the man behind the horn.
The 42nd Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards honors programming content from more than 2200 submissions that originally premiered in calendar-year 2020, judged by a pool of 950 peer professionals from across the television and streaming/digital media News & Documentary industry.
The complete list of winners is also available on the National Television Academy’s website: theemmys.tv
American Masters – Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool is a Firelight Media/Eagle Rock Films Production for American Masters Pictures and Eagle Rock Entertainment in association with BBC Music. Produced and directed by Stanley Nelson. Produced by Nicole London. Executive produced by Terry Shand and Geoff Kempin for Eagle Rock Entertainment; Darryl Porter, Erin Davis, Cheryl Davis, and Vince Wilburn for Miles Davis Properties, LLC; and Michael Kantor for American Masters.
Funding for American Masters – Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool is provided by David and Lisa Grain, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Jody and John Arnhold, Pappalardo Family Foundation, and The Leslie and Roslyn Goldstein Foundation.
Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Rosalind P. Walter, Judith & Burton Resnick, The Cheryl & Philip Milstein family, Vital Projects Fund, Lillian Goldman Programming Endowment, The Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Seton J. Melvin, Philip & Janice Levin Foundation, Ellen & James S. Marcus, The André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, The Ambrose Monell Foundation and public television viewers.
MADRID — Penélope Cruz has won one of Spain’s top film awards for her contribution to Spanish cinema, the country’s ministry of culture said Monday.
The jury of the 2022 National Cinema award was unanimous in its decision to honor the Madrid-born star, describing the 48-year-old Oscar winner in a statement as an “iconic actress whose brilliant legacy enriches Spain’s cultural heritage.”
“Committed to her craft, she seeks excellence in her work, allowing her to create some of the most unforgettable characters in the history of our cinema,” the jury added.
The recognition is the latest addition to Cruz’s long list of accolades, from an Academy Award for best supporting actress in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” to top awards at the Cannes and Venice Film Festival for her performances in “Volver” and “Parallel Mothers.”
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez congratulated Cruz soon after the award was announced.
“She is the embodiment of cinema, both Spanish and international,” Sánchez tweeted, citing her “immense talent and exceptional performances.”
Past winners of the award include actor Antonio Banderas and director Isabel Coixet.
Teenager and mother’s heiress Apple Martin has passed another milestone in her life! Gwyneth Paltrow congratulated her 18-year-old daughter on graduating from high school by sharing a photo from that momentous day on her stories.
Despite their divorce from Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, the parents shared a special moment with the alum. In the joint frame, dad, in a blue suit and white shirt, hugged his beloved girl while mom held the camera, dressed in a straw hat for a special occasion.
“Congratulations to all the graduates, especially Apple Martin,” the Goop founder wrote, adding a Class of 2022 sticker below a cute family photo. The long-awaited daughter Apple was born to Gwyneth in 2004; also married to Martin, they had a son, Moses, who is now 16 years old.
The star of Shakespeare in Love also does a great job as a stepmother to her current husband Brad Falchuk’s two children, Brody’s son, and Isabella’s daughter. Gwyneth previously celebrated Apple’s 18th birthday by sharing on social media a photo of a strikingly similar blonde to her and writing how proud she was of her beloved daughter.
According to her longtime friend Drew Barrymore, it was with the birth of a girl that the actress herself began to truly live because she is extraordinary in every sense of the word. In a previous post, Her parent celebrated her 18th birthday. In the words of equally popular anti-Drew Barry Moore, Gwyneth itself was born on the same day that Apple was born.
Famous friends of his mother also joined in the congratulations. They included Heidi Klum, Alexandra von Furstenberg, and Eli Wentworth; meanwhile did not hesitate to comment on how closely the girl herself resembled Paltrow. By the way, last month, the actress shared with subscribers a story about how she and her ex-husband Chris Martin made a name for their daughter.
Religion of Sports, the sports media production company founded by Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Gotham Chopra, announced $50 million in Series B funding.
With the new investment, which brings the company to about $63 million raised to date, Religion of Sports plans to develop new intellectual property — including expanding into areas beyond sports like entertainment, business and music — as well as scale its creator network and increase global strategic partnerships.
The Series B round was led by Shamrock Capital, with participation from Cerro Capital and previous investor Elysian Park Ventures (the investment arm of the L.A. Dodgers). Other previous investors include LionTree, Advancit Capital and Courtside Ventures.
“Religion of Sports has grown at a pace we could have only dreamed about five years ago,” Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback currently signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said in a statement. “I look forward to what the future holds for us at Religion of Sports as we continue to expand our slate and pursue more collaborative projects with new partners.”
Religion of Sports recently expanded into the NFT marketplace with ESPN’s “Man In the Arena: Tom Brady” series and through a partnership with Brady’s Autograph to release digital collectibles with Simone Biles.
Earlier this year, Religion of Sports announced plans to develop, finance and produce a slate of sports-related content for multiple platforms, with projects across scripted TV, documentary and audio including its first scripted project, “The Owl,” a rags-to-riches story about an orphaned Mexican-American boxer.
Religion of Sports, based in Santa Monica, Calif., was founded in 2017. The company’s projects have included shows for Facebook Watch, Apple TV+, ESPN, Showtime, Fox Sports and NBC Sports. In the second half of 2021, Religion of Sports debuted three docuseries following Simone Biles (“Simone vs. Herself” on Facebook Watch); Russell Westbrook (“Passion Play” on Showtime); and Tom Brady (“Man In the Arena” on ESPN+).
“Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of producing many stories, some with athletes themselves, others around the fans and the games themselves, that are anchored in that same core idea — sports matter,” Gotham Chopra, who is the son of Deepak Chopra, said in a statement. “Now with Shamrock aboard, we’re poised for even more growth and fun. And I couldn’t be more excited about the future of the ROS faith.”
L.A.-based Shamrock Capital says it has $3.6 billion of assets under management with investments in media, entertainment, communications and related sectors. The firm was originally founded in 1978 as the family investment company for the late Roy E. Disney and has evolved into an institutionally backed firm with backers including endowments, foundations, and sovereign wealth and pension funds.
Jake Gyllenhaal will lead the voice cast of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ next film, a journey to an alien planet called “Strange World” from “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Big Hero 6” director Don Hall, and Disney on Monday released the first teaser trailer for the new film.
The teaser is a campy, retro newsreel style look at the film that even starts in a sepia tone and tells audiences to “prepare themselves for a journey beyond what is possible.”
Jake Gyllenhaal in “Strange World” lends his voice to Searcher Clade, the son of a steadfast explorer. The original action-adventure journeys deep into an uncharted and treacherous land where fantastical creatures await the legendary Clades, a family of explorers whose differences threaten to topple their latest—and by far— most crucial mission.
Joining Hall on the project is co-director/writer Qui Nguyen, who was also a co-writer on “Raya and the Last Dragon.” And the film is produced by Roy Conli (“Big Hero 6,” “Tangled”).
Disney Animation had their biggest hit in some time with the release of the Oscar-winning “Encanto” last year, which not only made $255 million at the worldwide box office but put up massive numbers on Disney+ and also had a bona fide No. 1 musical hit in “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” not to mention several other charting hits from the film.
“Strange World” will open in theaters Nov. 23, 2022. Check out the first look above and the film’s teaser poster below.
Since Poliça first gained traction in the early 2010s, vocalist and synth player Channy Leaneagh has been their franchise player, doing the lion’s share of press and standing in the spotlight during live shows and videos. On the Minneapolis synth-pop group’s latest album, Madness, there’s a shift: Leaneagh’s swooping voice is less central than it was on 2020’s When We Stay Alive, an album that combined ruminative lyrics about injury and recovery with arrangements that felt a little too slick and mechanical. Madness flips that approach. The instrumentation is more laid back, but the vocals—always a key part of Poliça songs—receive a surreal, futuristic sheen.
Madness makes prominent use of Allovers, an “anthropomorphic production tool” designed by producer Ryan Olson (also Leanagh’s husband) and Seth Rosetter. In 2019, the pair incorporated it into a MASS MoCA sound installation that transformed a museum building into a kind of living instrument, generating music based on the idle chatter and movements of patrons. On Madness, it blends the percussion with the swelling synths to create an uncanny valley quality—too organic to be digital, but too robotic to be analog. What might have been a stack of synths and drums on an earlier Poliça record now has an unpredictable rhythmic and sonic variance, like the familiar yet bizarre refractions of artist Alexander Mordvintsev’s DeepDream technology.
The use of Allovers leads to some interesting textural moments, like the oscillating, tinny ding behind the neo-soul groove of “Blood” or the guttural gurgling underneath “Away.” In general, however, Madness plods more than the band’s best work and doesn’t make as novel use of Ben Ivascu and Drew Christopherson’s dual drummer setup. The most musically interesting Poliça records, like 2016’s United Crushers, balanced moments of ambience with jagged, uptempo anthems that invited dancing. At just seven songs, Madness devotes nearly half its runtime to burbling ballads that lack structure, denying the catharsis of those career peaks.
Madness is billed as a “companion piece” to When We Stay Alive, an album partially inspired by Leaneagh’s recovery from a debilitating fall that reshaped her perspective. None of the lyrics here hit with the same level of urgency or intensity, although “Fountain,” with its description of a tumultuous relationship, comes closest. (“Don’t you calm me when I speak/I will never be that weak,” Leaneagh warns.) In early interviews, Leaneagh explained her resistance to being perceived as a singer-songwriter, claiming to focus less on enunciation than conveying emotions, and this record makes her writing feel secondary to the music.
CANNES, FRANCE — The classic divide between arthouse and Hollywood films is very much in evidence as the 75th Cannes Film Festival heads into its closing weekend and the bestowing of the Palme d’Or and other awards.
The two films everybody here is talking about, Park Chan-wook’s murder mystery “Decision to Leave” and Baz Luhrmann’s musical biopic “Elvis,” both have directors known for their visual flair and astute use of music — but the comparisons end there.
“Decision to Leave,” a suspenseful cat-and-mouse story from South Korean auteur Park, is the film touted by critics’ straw polls and word of mouth as the most likely winner of the Palme at Saturday’s closing ceremonies. It’s the clear favourite over other strong competitors, including “Crimes of the Future” by Toronto’s David Cronenberg, who is making his sixth attempt at winning the Palme.
The final say, of course, will come from the nine-member Palme jury, led by French actor Vincent Landon. The other members are: actors Noomi Rapace and Deepika Padukone; actor/director Jasmine Trinca; actors/writers/directors Rebecca Hall and Ladj Ly; and writers/directors Asghar Farhadi, Jeff Nichols and Joachim Trier.
“Elvis” is the other topic du jour, following its splashy world premiere Wednesday night at the Palais du Festivals and a beach party afterwards that featured fireworks in various Elvis Presley poses and symbols.
It’s not eligible for any awards — it premiered out of competition, like last week’s Tom Cruise vehicle “Top Gun: Maverick” — and critics seem to either love it (I’m among them) or to hate it. But it’s going to be a very big deal when it opens June 24 in North American theatres, and it seems likely to make a star out of Austin Butler, who plays Elvis. He previously played a Manson Family killer in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” which premiered at Cannes in 2019.
In rough order of preference, here are my 10 favourite films from Cannes 2022:
Decision to Leave
Park Chan-wook’s neo-noir about an obsessed cop and a widow of deadly suspicion operates in the misty realm between sleep and wakefulness. The cop, played by Park Hae-il, is an insomniac homicide detective who isn’t easily fooled, except perhaps in matters of the heart. The widow, played by China’s Tang Wei (of Ang Lee’s “Lust, Caution”), seems far too sanguine about her mountaineering husband’s death. I felt shivers of “Vertigo” and “In the Mood for Love,” plus an intense desire to see it again. Park encourages such close inspection: every frame is like a painting, with hints to character motivation and plot twists.
Tori and Lokita
I’m gobsmacked by Pablo Schils and Joely Mbundu, first-time actors who play the title characters, African refugees struggling to survive in a Europe that seeks only to exploit them. The pair radiate empathy in this latest act of masterful naturalism from Belgian filmmaking brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, who have won the Palme twice previously. Tori and Lokita met on the boat to Belgium from Africa, where they concocted the story of being brother and sister, hoping to improve their odds of staying. Their love is real, however, and it remains unshakable as they endure sexual abuse and economic exploitation. This one is a heartbreaker.
Top Gun: Maverick
Two miracles are needed for the high-risk mission of the flyboys (and gals) of this vein-popping sequel, directed by Joseph Kosinski. But a third is achieved from the get-go: Tom Cruise and company bring fresh drama and heart to the “Top Gun” tale, exceeding the ‘86 original. There’s excellent interplay between Cruise and new characters Rooster (Miles Teller), the angry son of Maverick’s late flying partner, and Penny (Jennifer Connelly), a barkeep who supplies levity and love. But it’s the action that sells the popcorn, and this film really delivers on that front, especially when it’s time to put the impossible bombing raid into play.
Elvis
The King lives! Austin Butler is absolutely magnetic as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s sprawling biopic, which blasts the screen with the glossy Aussie’s trademark excess and bravado but also hits the right historical notes. Butler convincingly spans the decades with Elvis, presenting him as the showman of public renown and the vulnerable soul of personal life. Luhrmann is the film’s real high-wire act, though. His decision to frame the story with the admittedly engaging Tom Hanks as clownish villain Col. Tom Parker, manager and Svengali to Elvis, threatens at first to make this the “King Richard” of rock biopics. Have no fear: Butler’s Elvis is just too good to be upstaged by a supporting star.
Moonage Daydream
A David Bowie love supreme. Brett Morgen’s doc is cinema jazz: part mad idolatry, part surreal scrapbook, all David, voiced by him. It’s a joy to see every aspect of Bowie’s art celebrated, and to share his embrace of existence: “I’m pretty keen on life.” The Bowie estate granted Morgen access to more than five million pieces of Bowie materials, including music, paintings and unseen concert films. It seems at times like he’s put all of them into this movie, which is a lot to take in, even for hardcore Bowie fans. All the more reason to plan to see this on an IMAX screen, when the film is released to theatres this fall.
Crimes Of The Future
Welcome to the nightmare ahead, where people grow new organs as art, modify body parts for fashion and consume plastic for food. A world to come that’s made all the more terrifying by David Cronenberg, master filmmaker and seer of dark visions. Viggo Mortensen stars as a performance artist who has learned how to grow new organs within his body. These “neo-organs” are removed by his partner (Léa Seydoux), much to the fascination and alarm of government bureaucrats. Cronenberg sardonically comments on cosmetic surgery, environmental destruction and the feeling of all artists, himself included, that putting your work before the public is akin to being operated on in the city square.
Holy Spider
The Palme jury should also seriously consider this Iran-set thriller by Iranian/Danish director Ali Abbasi (“Border”). It seems almost too horrific to believe (and to watch) but it’s based on a true story, circa 2001, about a religiously motivated serial killer of prostitutes. Zar Amir-Ebrahimi, who should be a contender for Best Actress honours at Cannes, plays a journalist named Rahimi who risks her life in the quest to find the savage strangler who is determined to “cleanse the streets of sinners.” She’s working largely on her own: many people consider the killer to be God’s avenger, worthy of support rather than scorn.
Armageddon Time
A child’s eye view of how small sins of daily life can add up to major wrongs. It’s directed by Cannes regular James Gray, from his personal experiences and observations growing up in Queens, New York, in the 1980s at the dawn of the Ronald Reagan presidency. There are superb performances across the board, especially by the youngest members of the cast (Banks Repeta, Jaylin Webb) and the oldest (Anthony Hopkins). There are also great turns by Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong and Tovah Feldshuh — and watch for a cameo by Jessica Chastain, in the unlikely role of a Trump family member.
Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble In Mind
Great reels of fire! Ethan Coen grabs lightning in a bottle with this doc on piano pounder Jerry Lee Lewis, aka “the Killer,” the last man standing from the 1950s rock greats. Making his solo directorial debut with a project he started to while away the days during COVID closedowns, Coen doesn’t waste time with the usual biographic details, leaving most of them to a text scroll at the end. Instead he does a stellar trawl of Jerry Lee’s live performance archive, much of it in colour. Jerry Lee likes to boast that he’s the real king of rock ’n’ roll, not his late frenemy Elvis Presley. This doc lends credence to that claim.
R.M.N.
Xenophobia, racism and mistrust rage like a pandemic through Cristian Mungiu’s smalltown drama, set in a Transylvanian village where options are few and suspicions are many. Martin Grigore’s Matthias, a bear of a man who quits a slaughterhouse job in Germany and returns home to many problems and the sound of no hands clapping, is the embodiment of Hitchcock’s definition of suspense. Mungiu won the Palme in 2007 with his abortion drama “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.” He has a shot at a repeat with this one, which reminded me a bit of Michael Haneke’s “The White Ribbon,” a dawn-of-facism drama that also scored gold here.
Peter Howell is a movie critic in Toronto. Twitter: @peterhowellfilm.
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Kate Bush in 1979Photo: Stuart Nicol/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images (Getty Images)
Singer Kate Bush has offered a rare statement on the popularity and resurgence of her 1985 hit “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” after its use in the newest season of Netflix’s Stranger Things.
“You might’ve heard that the first part of the fantastic, gripping new series of Stranger Things has recently been released on Netflix,” Bush writes on her website. “It features the song, ‘Running Up That Hill’ which is being given a whole new lease of life by the young fans who love the show—I love it too! Because of this, ‘Running Up That Hill’ is charting around the world and has entered the UK chart at No. 8. It’s all really exciting! Thanks very much to everyone who has supported the song.”
The single is used many times throughout the fourth season of Stranger Things as a motif for Sadie Sink’s Max; the song even saves her from the villain Vecna at one point. Bush, an apparent fan of the sci-fi series, says she cannot wait for the rest of the fourth season to arrive in July.
“I wait with bated breath for the rest of the series in July,” she continues.
The Hounds Of Love opener has definitely been given a new lease on life as it surges on Spotify, iTunes, and Billboard charts. It currently has the chance to snag a higher spot on the Hot 100 chart than it originally did in 1985. Additionally, three of Bush’s other songs are currently on the Spotify Viral Chart, including “Cloudbusting,” “Hounds Of Love,” and “Wuthering Heights.” “Running Up That Hill” previously landed on UK charts after its use in the 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony.
The first seven episodes of Stranger Things season 4 are currently streaming on Netflix, with the remainder of the season debuting on Friday, July 1.
