Poet Jericho Brown won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his collection “The Tradition.” The poems are vivid works of beauty and agony – each word delivered with a strong sense of urgency. In this episode of American Masters: Creative Spark, Brown breaks down the process behind writing the collection’s titular poem, “The Tradition,” and the many layers of his ever-changing consciousness that inspired its creation.
American Masters: Creative Spark presents narrative interviews that go in-depth with an iconic artist about the creation of a single work. Each episode offers a unique window into the world of art and the creative process of artists and cultural icons across a wide range of disciplines, from music and comedy to poetry and film.
American Masters has been on the air since 1986. For four decades, we’ve asked: who has changed America? We’ve aired hundreds of carefully crafted programs that illuminate the stories of our cultural giants. But just a fraction of the interviews filmed for American Masters appear in the final films; nearly 96% of the footage never gets released. Now, the American Masters digital archive makes this rich catalog of interviews available to the public.
The archive includes over 1,000 hours of footage from more than 1,000 original, never-before-seen, full, raw interviews: a treasure trove of the movers and shakers of American culture, including Maya Angelou, Patti Smith, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Matthew Broderick, Carl Reiner, Joan Rivers, Audra McDonald, Lee Grant, Patricia Bosworth, Sidney Lumet, William Buckley and many others.
Established in 1996 during the Web’s infancy, The Webbys is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS)—a 2000+ member judging body. The Academy is comprised of Executive Members—leading Internet experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities—and Associate Members who are former Webby Winners, Nominees and other Internet professionals.
Evacuations were underway in an area north of a gas facility located west of Red Deer, Alta., on Friday afternoon because of a wildfire burning in the area.
“There is a wildfire north of Crimson Lake,” Clearwater County officials said in an emergency alert issued at 3:42 p.m. “Alberta Wildfire has begun to evacuate north of the Ferrier Gas Plant on Buster Creek Road, north and north west five kilometres.
“To evacuate heading north, travel on Buster Creek Road to O’Chiese Road, west on O’Chiese road to Sunchild Road, south on Sunchild Road to Highway 11.”
County officials added that Clearwater Regional Fire Rescue Services and provincial wildfire crews with air support were at the scene.
Next week’s CMA Fest in Nashville will feature hundreds of the hottest acts in Country Music. One thing it will not feature, however, is the Confederate flag.
Along with drones, bikes and drug paraphernalia, the festival’s list of prohibited items and activities now includes “Confederate flag imagery of any kind.” The event’s Code of Conduct further covers things like hate speech:
CMA is committed to creating and sustaining an inclusive culture where all people have access to experience Country Music. Therefore, inappropriate behavior such as discrimination, harassment, any form of abuse and/or targeted comments which may cause any person to fear for their safety at the Event will not be tolerated.
That includes “any displays of the Confederate flag,” according to a statement the Country Music Association provided to the Tennessean this week.
Some country musicians have, over the decades, wrapped themselves — or their stage setup — in the Confederate flag. Charlie Daniels, Trace Adkins and Luke Combs have all faced blowback for associating themselves with the symbol. Adkins and Combs apologized.
This year’s prohibition comes as Combs is among the top acts on the bill. So is Darius Rucker, who is Black.
“This year’s CMA Fest is our first major fan-facing event in nearly three years. We have always had policies in place that protect the safety of our fans and ban discrimination, but we felt it was important to further refine our language to explicitly outline what will and will not be tolerated,” reads the CMA statement.
The CMA Fest runs June 9-12 this year. For the fest lineup, see below. For new additions to the event, see below that.
Lineup additions include Brothers Osborne and Old Dominion will take the Nissan Stadium main stage, while opening acts include Deana Carter, Sara Evans, Everette, Randy Houser, Angie K, Kylie Morgan and Shenandoah. Unfortunately, Alan Jackson will no longer perform.
New this year, CMA Fest will host performances from the special Platform Stage in the center of Nissan Stadium, featuring Priscilla Block, Madeline Edwards, Kat + Alex, Maddie & Tae, Frank Ray, Lily Rose and Dylan Scott. Brittney Spencer welcomes the Nissan Stadium crowd Thursday night performing the National Anthem.
Russell Dickerson kicks off the CMA Close Up Stage Thursday as the Artist of the Day at Fan Fair X.
Additional acts that have been added to the CMA Fest lineup include Ryan Charles, Brooke Eden, Mae Estes and Ella Langley. Eden also kicks off the Chevy Riverfront Stage Thursday morning performing the National Anthem.
Small businesses will soon be able to accept payments from Apple’s Tap to Pay app thanks to a new collaboration.
Digital payment platform Square is teaming up with Apple (opens in new tab) to roll out new support for Tap to Pay on iPhones. The feature will go onto Square’s Point of Sale app to allow “in-person contactless payments”. Business owners won’t have to rely on Square’s add-on devices to accept payments.
You may be more familiar with Square if you’ve ever gone to a small business and seen that the store owner’s iPhone or iPad is connected to a dongle. Those dongles are often Square’s own card reader (opens in new tab) and they have proven to be pretty popular with business owners.
Back in February 2022, Apple launched its Tap to Pay app as a way for more businesses to accept Apple Pay and other types of contactless payments. Some were concerned this spelled doom for Square and other similar companies that rely on hardware, but that wasn’t the case.
Apple stated that it would work with payment platforms so everyone could use its new app. Stripe was the first platform to get that support, then Shopify. Now, Square is joining the mix, integrating Apple’s contactless payment support with its transaction system
The new Tap to Pay support doesn’t have an official launch date other than it will roll out later this year. We asked Block Inc. if there are any hardware limitations for the service and a representative was able to confirm that you will need an iPhone XS or later device to use the app.
Apple adding software support for payments poses an interesting question on the future state of transaction hardware. This isn’t to say that Square and other similar payment platforms are going to go bankrupt or those card readers will be going away anytime soon.
Square’s card readers are still widely used and probably will be for a while. But the long-term future is less certain. A study from Juniper Research (opens in new tab) states that contactless payments via app will reach $49 billion transactions next year.
An ever-increasing reliance on software to manage transactions could change how people do business. Cash registers may go extinct at some point. If you’d like to know what the best contactless payment apps are, TechRadar has a list of the best ones.
Samora Pinderhughes, Cécile McLorin Salvant, and Jen Shyu discuss their inspirations, their exciting new projects, and how jazz can be used as an instrument for social change.
If you’re looking for a movie to honor veterans this holiday, look no further than Da 5 Bloods on Netflix. With artistic flair, gorgeous cinematography, and a career-defining performance from Delroy Lindo, Spike Lee created a war movie that examines the way racism, trauma, imperialism, and violence are tragically, inextricably intertwined. It’s…
For his feature film directing debut, actor Mark O’Brien couldn’t have chosen a weightier subject.
“I’ve always been interested in stories of damnation and God and the devil and your soul because that’s the ultimate stakes,” he said in a Zoom interview. “There’s nothing bigger than that.”
He not only directed but wrote and co-stars in “The Righteous,” which opened in Canadian theatres Friday, an intense psychological thriller that deals with sin, faith, penance and retribution.
O’Brien is a Newfoundland native whose face would be familiar if you’ve watched shows like “Halt and Catch Fire,” “Republic of Doyle,” “City on a Hill” and “61st Street,” or movies like “Goalie,” “Ready or Not” and “Marriage Story.”
So, yes, acting is what he’s best known for, but he said he’s always wanted to make movies.
As a student studying English at Memorial University in St. John’s — he minored in classics and very nearly double minored in philosophy — he’d do whatever theatre jobs he could get on the side, often unpaid, and make short films on the weekends with his friends. He was also a children’s show host for CBC.
“So I was just constantly learning … these thoughts were always kind of percolating,” the 38-year-old said.
Acting is “a hard racket,” he added, full of rejection, but “making a movie is like going to war. It’s a tough thing to get done.”
Still, O’Brien considers himself lucky for a first-time filmmaker. “The Righteous” took two to three years to get made with the help of Telefilm’s Atlantic office and the Newfoundland & Labrador Film Development Corporation.
“Other ones I was trying to make fell by the wayside along the way. So this one kind of came together, probably because it was a little bit smaller in nature so it was less of that leap of faith.”
It has a cast of just six, but it’s an impressive cast, led by notable Canadian actor Henry Czerny, who’s been in everything from miniseries “The Boys of St. Vincent” to TV dramas “The Tudors” and “Revenge,” and the blockbuster “Mission: Impossible” movie franchise.
In “The Righteous,” he plays Frederic Mason, a former Catholic priest who left the church to marry Ethel, played by another notable Canadian actor, Mimi Kuzyk (“Hill Street Blues,” “Workin’ Moms”). Following a tragedy, which Frederic perceives as a punishment from God, an injured stranger (O’Brien) turns up at Frederic’s and Ethel’s door. The ex-priest is forced to confront a long buried secret and asked to make an impossible choice, one he fears could completely sever his relationship with God.
“I remember when I was in university and read ‘Paradise Lost’ for the first time it had a huge effect on me; like those ideas of spiritual damnation or betterment are really fascinating,” O’Brien said. “The movie has a lot to do with confrontation, with confronting others, yourself, things you’ve done, and coming to terms with it and how you’re willing to do that. And I think you see in the film that it takes a lot of layers until you can finally get to that place.”
O’Brien wrote the script with Kuzyk in mind — he met her years before through fellow Newfoundland actor Shawn Doyle — but “Henry just came to me much later on. We’re good friends and it just hit me: I just think he’s right for it.”
The cast is rounded out by Kate Corbett, Nigel Bennett and Mayko Nguyen.
O’Brien found it useful to be a director with acting experience.
“I think every actor should direct and every director should act,” he said. “As an actor, I can’t exactly know what they’re going through each and every moment, but I do understand the process very, very well. And I know what things not to say, what situations not to put someone in, what they need as a performer and what’s appreciated.
“But mostly it comes down to a human being understanding that other human being’s situation, and being able to empathize with it and also just understand it so that they feel comfortable enough to give their performance.”
The camaraderie of the group determines the final product, he added, and he’s very happy with how “The Righteous” turned out.
It’s been well received at various film festivals, winning Best Screenplay at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal and Manchester’s Grimmfest, as well as Best Cinematography at Grimmfest and the Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival. (Scott McClellan did the shooting, in atmospheric black and white, and got on film exactly what O’Brien said was in his head.)
But an especially important screening was to take place in St. John’s on Friday night. “I honestly get emotional thinking about it because I went to those movie theatres dreaming of making a movie,” O’Brien said earlier in the week.
Although he’s lived in Los Angeles for the last eight or nine years, “I couldn’t be more proud about being a Newfoundlander. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to go back and shoot there,” he said. The “very, very tight and supportive creative community” of St. John’s is “the only reason that I’m making a living doing this job today.”
As for that living, he’s been shooting Season 2 of U.S. TV series “Perry Mason” but says there will be more moviemaking in his future.
“I like wearing all those hats just because I love this job so much … it’s like a kid in a candy store.”
Debra Yeo is a deputy editor and a contributor to the Star’s Entertainment section. She is based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @realityeo
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The unconventional sci-fi musical “Neptune Frost” (in theaters), from the co-directors and partners Saul Williams, a seasoned musician and actor from New York, and Anisia Uzeyman, a Rwandan actress and filmmaker; interrogates the notion of technological progress from the vantage point of those living in the places exploited to achieve it.
Set in the mountains of the African nation of Burundi, their Afrofuturist vision, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021, follows a former miner and an intersex hacker as they lead an uprising against oppressive forces. The realm they inhabit is one where reality and a digital interface, imbued with a magic realism, intersect in tactile ways.
Speaking via video call from their home in Los Angeles, the duo elucidated some of their one-of-a-kind film’s key concepts. Below are edited excerpts from the conversation.
“Neptune Frost” was originally envisioned for the stage until producers persuaded you to turn the concept into a film. How did the medium of cinema reshape the project?
SAUL WILLIAMS: It allowed us to imagine what it would be like to shoot on location. We had written the story to take place in Burundi but knew that we wouldn’t be able to shoot there because of political unrest. But in the neighboring country of Rwanda, where Anisia is from, the doors were open. We arrived there in 2016 to shoot a sizzle reel and discovered a slew of Burundian refugees in Kigali who were students, artists and activists. We got excited about showing a place and faces that people haven’t really seen onscreen.
ANISIA UZEYMAN: We wanted to share the existing beauty of Rwanda that I was intimate with, as well as the language. We have an ancestral tradition of poetry.
WILLIAMS: After writing the script, working with those poets and writers from Rwanda and Burundi to translate the text into Kinyarwanda and Kirundi was an extraordinary experience. The film allowed us to share way more than the stage would have.
In creating this intricate narrative, were you drawing from specific historical events pertinent to Burundi or larger ideas about neocolonialism in Africa?
WILLIAMS: When we first started conceptualizing the project in 2011, the Arab Spring, Chelsea Manning and WikiLeaks were going on. On the continent, there were American evangelists arriving in countries like Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda offering money to pass anti-L.G.B.T. laws. We were also learning about e-waste camps [in Africa], places where our tech goes to die, village-size camps with piles of motherboards, keyboards and towers. We learned of their close connection to the mining industry and the irony that digital technology is rooted so heavily in analog exploitation.
This is connected to what has been happening on that continent for centuries. We wake up every morning and say, “I can’t start my day without my coffee,” with no sense of where that coffee comes from, where the rubber from your tires come from, where the stuff that makes your computer work comes from. The spirit of protest in the film comes from what was happening while we were writing it. We wanted to incorporate these things and to connect dots between these disparate ideas and show how they were all part of the same timeline.
Given that the music represents an integral storytelling aspect here, can you explain the thought process behind its composition?
WILLIAMS: The music came first. I grew up on musicals and one of the goals was to make one that corresponds with the musical interests that have been a part of my exploration as an artist. I was interested in polyrhythm because we made the connection between drum rhythms and coding because drums themselves have been used for wireless communication. We were playing with the idea of drum coding in terms of computer programming, and the exploration of what is beyond the binary in the question of gender.
UZEYMAN: Music was also a great means to communicate with the actors who are all singers and musicians. They have that very privileged relationship to rhythm. It was a way of working toward their own understanding of the characters that they were playing and how their voices evolve over the arch of the story.
There’s a striking visual quality to the costumes and set decorations that’s both otherworldly and recognizable, how were these designed?
UZEYMAN: We met Cedric Mizero, the young designer behind those costumes and the décor, in 2016 in Rwanda. After hearing the story that we wanted to tell, he came back the next morning with sandals made of motherboards. Cedric’s work also inspired the writing of the film because he already was working with people in the village recycling and transforming materials that are seen as waste into art installations and zero-waste fashion.
WILLIAMS: For example, making backpacks out of water containers or using African wooden sculptures as the guns that we used in the film.
How does Afrofuturist art, which incorporates folklore and culture into futurist tropes, allows you to address today’s issues from a decolonized lens?
WILLIAMS: There’s something experienced and understood about the fluidity of things in Indigenous cultures that transcends Western projection. These things have been a part of reality and storytelling in Africa and other places for a long time, but the rigidity of the Western lack of imagination has closed the doors on those ancient myths and mythologies. It’s crucial for us to not participate in poverty porn or the expectations white people have of Africa.
UZEYMAN: From the perspective of artists on the continent, what’s important is the possibility of telling whatever story we want to tell, not the story that you are waiting for us to tell or that you’re willing to finance. We want to tell all tales from our perspective — science fiction or historical dramas — freed from the Western framing.
The real mystery of Season 4 seems to be why we aren’t getting a clear answer about Will’s sexuality — which is something that has been hinted at since Season 1.
? There are some spoilers ahead for Stranger Things Season 4! ?
Alright, as you’re probably more than aware, after almost three years of waiting, Season 4 Vol. 1 of Stranger Things finally dropped last week.
Tina Rowden / Tina Rowden/Netflix
And while the season answered a lot of questions/theories we’ve had about the show — through the amazingly acted but very intense flashback scenes revolving around Eleven’s backstory — it also left us with new ones and some still unanswered ones.
Courtesy Of Netflix / Courtesy of Netflix
One of those still unanswered questions: Is Will gay?
Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix
If you’re unfamiliar with this theory, then here is a quick recap: Will has always been portrayed as very shy, artistic, and sensitive (even before he was taken into the Upside Down). But it was during Season 3 that fans began to really speculate that he was gay and possibly in love with his BFF, Mike.
Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Now, even before Season 3, it was obvious that Will was jealous of the attention Mike gave Eleven. And once the two started dating during Season 3, it was clear Will was upset by that.
Netflix / Courtesy of Netflix
The theories of Will being gay got even more intense during Season 4.
Courtesy Of Netflix / Courtesy of Netflix
Eagle-eyed fans caught the fact that during the first episode, Will’s choice for his famous hero presentation was Alan Turing. Turing was a British mathematician and code breaker who was gay and convicted of “gross indecency” in 1952 (when homosexuality was against the law in the UK).
Netflix
Which, OK, maybe not the biggest giveaway, but def seems like a big hint.
It was also during this episode that Will rejects a girl in his class who tries to play footsies with him.
The moment when girl tried to flirt with Will ?
I immediately had gay panic vibes ?
Will Byers is gay. He has to accept it?
#StrangerThings4 #StrangerThings #willbyers
Then there is the painting. In her letters during the first episode, Eleven tells Mike that Will is working on a painting that he refuses to show her, but that she suspects is for a girl.
Netflix / Courtesy of Netflix
Will is later seen in the second episode carrying the painting at the airport when they go pick up Mike — which seems to suggest that the painting was meant as a gift for him. However, after their frosty exchange and Mike clearly only being excited about seeing Eleven, it seems that Will might have changed his mind about giving it to him.
Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Later in that episode, Will continually tries to expose Eleven’s lies about being friends with Angela — which seems to be driven by his jealousy and his desire to embarrass her in front of Mike.
Courtesy Of Netflix / Courtesy of Netflix
And finally, in Episode 5, after the two have rekindled their friendship, Mike tells Will he wishes he had done a better job expressing his feelings toward Eleven, to which Will replies: “Sometimes, I think it’s just scary to open up like that. To say how you really feel, especially to people you care about the most. Because what if…what if they don’t like the truth?”
While he is seemingly giving Mike his thoughts on him not being more emotionally open with Eleven, it’s clear that he is actually talking about his own experience and is subtly confiding his feelings about not being able to be fully honest about how he feels about Mike.
Courtesy Of Netflix / Courtesy of Netflix
Obviously, fans feel like all of this pretty much confirms that Will is, well, gay.
However, in an interview earlier this week with Variety, Noah Schnapp (who plays Will) said he thinks his sexuality is purposely being left ambiguous so the audience can decide, saying, “I feel like they never really address it or blatantly say how Will is. I think that’s the beauty of it, that it’s just up to the audience’s interpretation, if it’s Will kind of just refusing to grow up and growing up slower than his friends, or if he is really gay.”
Roy Rochlin / Getty Images
While Mille Bobby Brown added, “Can I just say, it’s 2022 and we don’t have to label things. I think what’s really nice about Will’s character is that he’s just a human being going through his own personal demons and issues. So many kids out there don’t know, and that’s OK. That’s OK to not know. And that’s OK not to label things.”
With that being said, Noah did tweet last night that he is shipping a Will and Mike relationship:
Well, a lot of fans of the show were not exactly excited to hear that Will’s sexuality was up for “interpretation,” and they had thoughts:
In a world where Our Flag Means Death and Heartstopper get renewed for more seasons by being word-of-mouth hits among queer circles I need Stranger Things to get it’s shit together and make Will explicitly gay we’re not doing “interpretation” anymore
No actually it is very weird and odd how stranger things uses gay fairy and even the f slur to describe will in context where he gets bullied but when you tell them to say that will is actually gay they stay quiet??
Alright, so for what it’s worth, yes we’re dealing with a show about monsters and alternate realities, but Will is 15 years old in 1986. While that time period wasn’t exactly a super-repressive time and many, many gay people were out, being gay was still something that was largely stigmatized. So realistically, Will probably would’ve been closeted — even if he knew without a doubt that he was gay.
And while the argument from fans that confirming Will is gay is important for representation — considering the series’ young fan base — is very valid, we also have to acknowledge that we are getting queer representation from Robin, whose storyline as a lesbian on the show continues to be a core part of her character. Also, even her character had a build up (albeit a much shorter one) before coming out. But even Robin is largely in the closet because of her age and the time period (which, again, is realistic).
In an interview yesterday with Variety, the Duffer Brothers, Matt and Ross (the creators of the show), weighed in on the discussion about Will’s sexuality. When asked if they would directly address it, they responded: “The full arc of the story hasn’t come to pass yet because we really are in Episode 7, it’s what we call the end of our second act. So there’s a lot more resolution in the story; we’re trying to do the same with the characters’ arcs. And I would say that applies to Will’s arc. So it’s going to be much easier to talk about for everyone — the actors and us — once those final two episodes have played. But certainly, his journey and arc is far from finished.”
Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images
So by the sound of their response, I do think Will’s sexuality will most likely be addressed during Season 4 Vol. 2 (coming up in July). If we know anything about the Duffer Brothers, it’s that they wouldn’t be leaving all these hints if they weren’t building it up to something.
Ursula Coyote / Ursula Coyote/Netflix
What did you think of how Will’s sexuality is being handled on the show or if you even knew about it? Tell us everything in the comments below!
My Fake Boyfriend, a new LGBTQ+ rom-com from BuzzFeed Studios starring Keiynan Lonsdale, Dylan Sprouse, and Sarah Hyland, is out June 17 in the US — just in time for Pride! Sign up for Prime Video now so you’re ready to watch.
Amazon Prime Video
Not in the US? My Fake Boyfriend is coming to Prime Video in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, LATAM, and Brazil on June 10, and all other territories on June 24.
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Pushpa: The Rise – Part 1 Director: Sukumar Cast: Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna
Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna’s latest flick Pushpa: The Rise – Part 1is a complete package of story, romance, comedy, mass scenes and good direction. Sukumar has hit the right chords with the backdrop of the movie and the tone of the film. Allu Arjun clearly shoulders the movie throughout with his acting and dialogue delivery. His transformation for the role is surely commendable and his efforts do pay off in the film.
There are some typical Allu Arjun scenes thrown here and there in the film and is a sheer joy for his fans to watch the ‘Icon’ star to walk and perform his action in slow motion with the right amount of massy elements added to the scenes.
Rashmika somewhere meets the expectations, too. She delivers what is needed of her and even performs well in the “de-glam” look. Her character, Srivalli, brings the much-needed light-hearted scenes on screen and compliments Allu Arjun in the right way.
About the action sequences, if Rohit Shetty can make cars fly, Sukumar has taken things a notch above and we’ve trucks flying in slow motion sequences. Leaving aside the exaggeration, Allu Arjun yet again has impressed as always with his action sequences in this film. His action sequences with power-packed performances and punch lines surely call for some wild reactions from the audience. And the audience just cannot stay calm when that happens on the big screen.
The story and the narration is a little fast paced and could have been slowed down, but it is understandable as the film is already a lengthy watch. The second half of the movie sees the narrative escalate to showcase the bigger picture of the smuggling industry and is filled with action-packed sequences. However, what lacks is how the smugglers avoid or con the police, which is the usual basic expectation when it comes to such movies.
Devi Sri Prasad has delivered yet another hit in terms of music. All the songs are catchy and lift the vibe of the film well. The picturization of songs are colourful and is filled with swag moments for Allu Arjun’s fans to enjoy. Samantha has also impressed in her much-hyped item song.
Fahadh Faasil’s entry towards the end of the movie only elevates the whole film. Though not as massy as Allu Arjun, but Fahad’s entry, dialogues and punch lines are surely impactful. The movie takes a different turn after Fahad steps into the frame and then it’s all about Allu Arjun and Fahad till the end. Overall, the film is a massy entertainer with a decent story line and is custom-made for Allu Arjun’s fans.
After getting married, Anupama and Anuj Kapadia are now planning to adopt a child. Recently we saw how Anuj Kapadia told Anupama about his desire to adopt Anu – a young orphan girl who lives in an orphanage in Mumbai. While this leaves Anupama shocked, in the Friday episode, we saw Anupama agreeing with Anuj for adoption.
Yes, you read it right. In the episode, we saw Anupama telling Anuj that even though parenting is a huge responsibility, she is ready to take it with his help and support. The two then visit the orphanage and inform Anu that they will be soon adopt her. They further mention that once formalities regarding adoption are done, Anu will be taken to the Kapadia’s residence with her.
While Anupama and Anuj Kapadia are super happy and excited to adopt a young girl, fans are rather upset and disappointed. Several fans took to social media asking makers to either delay or remove the adoption track. One of the social media users talked about how the Shah family is already messed-up and therefore adopting a child might end up affecting her mental health. Another viewer urged makers not to ‘misrepresent’ the adoption process.
#Anupamaa@ketswalawalkar Please stop mis-representing adoption and adoption process. No one I repeat no one can just simply walk into any orphanage and adopt. There’s a process for it. Showing way Anuj Anupama are adopting it sends wrong message and signal to all the viewers.
— Supriya (She/Her) (@SUPRIYADEVERKON) June 3, 2022
I have realized that DKP wale don’t do research while handling sensitive issues in the show . Be it any track .. Anupama’s surgery , dv , adoption and many other things
See , when any child is abandoned by biological parents it already damages the child to great extent. Adoption of a kid in a messed up family and busy life of a couples will do more damage than good to kid .. WTF! #Anupama
For the unversed, Anupamaa is one of the most popular shows on television and has been ruling TRP charts for over a year now. It stars Rupali Ganguly, Gaurav Khanna, Sudhanshu Pandey, Paras Kalnawat, Madalsa Sharma, Nidhi Shah and Aashish Mehrotra among others. The show airs on Star Plus.
An Ellen Burstyn interview reveals the fact that she has already shot her scenes in the upcoming Exorcist reboot film from David Gordon Green.
Ellen Burstyn has revealed that her scenes from the upcoming Blumhouse reboot of The Exorcisthave already been shot. The new film is set to come to theaters on October 13, 2023, with a pair of sequels coming to the NBC Universal streaming service Peacock. The film is being helmed by David Gordon Green, who gave a similar reboot/sequel treatment to the Halloween films, bringing back Jamie Lee Curtis as consummate final girl Laurie Strode in a new set of sequels that is only in continuity with the original 1978 Halloween. In this case, however, the canon of the original franchise will remain intact, including the much-maligned Exorcist II: The Heretic.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
The original Exorcist, which is based on the William Peter Blatty novel of the same name, came to theaters on December 26, 1973. Burstyn starred in the film as Chris McNeil, an actress who is shooting a film at Georgetown University but is pulled away from her work when her daughter Regan (Linda Blair) starts to exhibit signs of demonic possession. After going to every doctor possible, she turns to skeptical priest Father Karras (Jason Miller) and veteran exorcist Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) for help. The film is still considered one of the scariest movies of all time and has spawned two sequels, two prequels, and a television series, including an entry directed by Blatty himself: 1990’s The Exorcist III.
Recently, an interview with Burstyn from Daily Blast LIVE was unearthed. The interview, which took place three months ago, was largely about her Paramount+ film Three Months, in which she appeared opposite pop singer Troye Sivan, however, they did take a moment to acknowledge her participation in the new Exorcist project. When asked about the notorious strange occurrences on the set of the original Exorcist, she mentioned in passing that “I’ve already shot the new version.” Check out her full quote below:
On the new set, because I’ve already shot the new version, nothing weird happened, no. There was a lot of weirdness on the first one, but there’s a lot of weirdness in every movie.
The extent to which Burstyn is participating in the film is still unknown. While it may be an appearance of just a scene or two, she will be instrumental in a brand new tale of demonic possession. In the new film, Chris McNeil is sought out by a brand new beleaguered parent played by Hamilton‘s Leslie Odom Jr., whose child has recently become possessed.
This will mark the first time that Burstyn has appeared in The Exorcist franchise since the original film. Although characters and performers from the original film have recurred (including Linda Blair in Exorcist II and the character of Father Merrin in Exorcist: The Beginning), Chris McNeil has been unseen for nearly five decades. Burstyn, who holds 1 Oscar amid 5 other nominations, was likely lured into the project by an intriguing script, so fans of the franchise can certainly expect another high-caliber performance from the actress in another terrifying story.
Doctor Strange 2 Concept Art Shows Defender Strange’s Tragic Death
About The Author
Brennan Klein (981 Articles Published)
Brennan (he/him) is a senior writer at Screen Rant and a millennial who knows more about 80’s slasher films than he has any right to. A former host of the Attack of the Queerwolf podcast, Brennan has been writing and podcasting about pop culture (especially horror films) for a decade.
Brennan’s interests also include the Muppets, bubblegum pop from around the world, and reading (especially Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, the manga of Junji Ito, and novels of magical realism). His favorite film directors are Wes Craven and Pedro Almodóvar.
Amber Heard issued a statement via social media after the jury reached the verdict in the defamation trial between her and ex-husband Johnny Depp.
Amber Heard issued a statement in reaction to the verdict of her defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp. Heard has been involved in the defamation trial since it began in April 2022, which Depp filed against his ex-wife. The couple were married in 2015, with Heard filing for divorce a year later, citing domestic abuse in an op-ed for The Washington Post a short time later. Although Depp was not explicitly named in the op-ed, it was commonly known that it was Depp. In response, Depp filed a defamation suit against the Aquaman actress, saying that she had cost his reputation, causing the loss of multiple roles.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
The Depp/Heard defamation trial has been highly-publicized as it was streamed live throughout, painting a portrait of their tumultuous relationship. While Depp lost a former lawsuit against The Sun for calling him a “wife-beater” in their publication, much of that same testimony was used for the defamation trial, resulting in a win for Depp, although not a total loss for Heard. The final verdict ruled in favor of more than $10 million to Depp for defamation by Heard, while it also ruled in favor of $2 million in damages to Heard for defamation by one of Depp’s lawyers.
In a statement released on Twitter, Heard said she was “disappointed” by the verdict, stating that she believes it to be a “setback” for women. Heard relayed that she felt Depp’s attorneys had convinced the jury to “overlook” Heard’s Freedom of Speech while “ignoring” evidence that was “so conclusive” in the UK libel trial that Depp lost. She concludes by saying that she’s “sad” that she lost the case, which she believes took away her right to free speech. Read her complete statement below:
Throughout the trial, much has been revealed about the couple’s turbulent relationship and the negative results they’ve experienced as a result of it, including the loss of major film roles. Heard’s agent Jessica Kovacevic testified that she believed the actress’s career should’ve taken off in a big way and that her legal woes may have impacted her career, including a scaled-back role in Aquaman 2. However, DC Films president Walter Hamada testified that it was more about Heard’s chemistry with star Jason Momoa than anything else and that the actress was still brought back to the film in a reduced role, as the plan had always been for it to be a buddy film between Momoa and co-star Patrick Wilson.
Now that the trial is over, it’s unclear how much of an effect it will have on the careers of either Heard or Depp. Both actors have been noticeably absent from big-name projects in the last few years, with Depp doing voice work on an obscure animated series and Heard appearing in The Stand mini-series and a very brief appearance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Whether or not the verdict puts either actor back on the right path remains to be seen. Still, it’s always possible that the publicity of the trial, however ugly or revealing it may have been, could amplify their status and get them back to work sooner than later.
Dark Avengers Fan Art Imagines a Possible MCU Team Up Movie
About The Author
Paul Shirey (797 Articles Published)
Paul Shirey is a senior news writer for Screen Rant. Formerly the Editor-in-Chief of JoBlo.com, he has over a decade of writing and reporting about the entertainment industry and has covered everything from Comic Con to CinemaCon to Star Wars Celebration, as well as covering numerous set visits and junkets all over the world. He is passionate about film, comics, TV and spends way too much on collectibles. A proud father, a combat veteran, dog lover, gym rat, coffee enthusiast and all around equal opportunity doughnut devourer, you can follow his daily exploits on Twitter and Instagram, as well as YouTube Videos on The Arctic Ninja Network.
The jury found that Mr. Depp was defamed by Ms. Heard when she described herself in an op-ed as a “public figure representing domestic abuse,” but also that she had been defamed by one of his lawyers.
From left, Kevin Lamarque/Reuters; Steve Helber/Associated Press
Here’s what you need to know:
Johnny Depp says Virginia jury ‘gave me my life back.’
Amber Heard testified that Mr. Depp sexually assaulted her and engaged in a ‘pattern’ of violence.
Johnny Depp portrayed Ms. Heard as the aggressor in his testimony.
The two sides clashed over what caused the damage to Mr. Depp’s career.
A judge in Britain found in 2020 that Mr. Depp had assaulted Ms. Heard and put her ‘in fear of her life.’
A jury in Virginia on Wednesday found that the actor Johnny Depp had been defamed by his ex-wife Amber Heard in a 2018 op-ed, a verdict that handed the actor a victory in his long, messy battle over domestic abuse allegations.
But the jury’s decision was split, also finding that one of the three statements at the center of Ms. Heard’s lawsuit, by one of Mr. Depp’s lawyers at the time, had been defamatory.
The jury awarded Mr. Depp $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages, but the judge capped the punitive damages total in accordance with legal limits, resulting in a total of $10.35 million. The jury awarded Ms. Heard $2 million in damages.
The jury’s decision came after a six-week trial that transfixed the nation, with millions of people watching it on television or streaming it online as the two major Hollywood stars made charges and countercharges of physical abuse against one another in court, sometimes in lurid detail. It was one of the highest-profile civil cases of the #MeToo era to go to trial.
Mr. Depp fiercely denied Ms. Heard’s accusations that he subjected her to repeated physical abuse that included punching, head-butting and dragging by the hair, as well as several instances of sexual assault.
“It’s insane to hear heinous accusations of violence — sexual violence — that she’s attributed to me,” Mr. Depp testified. “I don’t think anyone enjoys having to split themselves open and tell the truth, but there are times when one just simply has to because it’s gotten out of control.”
Mr. Depp’s lawsuit accused Ms. Heard of defaming him in a Washington Post op-ed in which she referred to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse” and said she witnessed “how institutions protect men accused of abuse.”
The article, which was spearheaded and prepared by the American Civil Liberties Union, never mentioned Mr. Depp by name, but he argued that it clearly referred to their marriage, which began in 2015 and fell apart just over a year later.
Ms. Heard, 36, maintained throughout the trial that everything written in the op-ed was true and that she was the one who was defamed when, in 2020, a lawyer representing Mr. Depp, 58, made statements to a British tabloid calling her abuse accusations a “hoax.” She sued Mr. Depp for those statements, arguing that the lawyer was acting as his agent. But as part of its decision on Tuesday, the jury declined to find that her ex-husband had defamed her.
The win for Mr. Depp, who denies ever hitting Ms. Heard or any other woman, is at odds with a legal loss in Britain, where Mr. Depp had sued the publishers of The Sun, a tabloid newspaper, in 2020. The Sun had called him a “wife-beater” in a headline, and the case ended with a ruling by a judge, Andrew Nicol, who found there was evidence he had assaulted Ms. Heard.
Paramount+ today announced Amanda Peet (“Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story”) will join the cast of the service’s upcoming original series FATAL ATTRACTION, from Paramount Television Studios and Amblin Television. Peet joins previously announced cast members Lizzy Caplan (“Castle Rock,” “Masters of Sex”), who stars as Alex Forrest and Joshua Jackson (“Dr. Death”), who stars as Dan Gallagher.
Peet will star as Beth Gallagher, a loyal wife, loving mother and successful small business owner whose world unravels when her husband Dan’s (Jackson) indiscretion threatens to destroy their life together.
A deep-dive reimagining of the classic psychosexual thriller and ‘80s cultural touchstone, the new series will explore fatal attraction and the timeless themes of marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes toward strong women, personality disorders and coercive control.
Amanda Peet starred in season two of the anthology series “Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story.” Before that, she was in “The Romanoffs,” “Brockmire,” and “Togetherness,” created by the Duplass Brothers, as well as “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” She has appeared in the films “Please Give,” “Something’s Gotta Give,” “The Whole Nine Yards,” “Syriana” and “Igby Goes Down,” among others. Her play “The Commons of Pensacola,” which was produced by Manhattan Theatre Club, starred Blythe Danner and Sarah Jessica Parker. Her most recent play, “Our Very Own Carlin McCullough,” ran in 2018 at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Most recently, Peet created the series “The Chair” starring Sandra Oh.
Alexandra Cunningham (“Dirty John,” “Chance”) serves as writer, showrunner and executive producer on the series alongside executive producer Kevin J. Hynes (“Perry Mason”), with whom Cunningham shares co-story credit, and executive producers Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey for Amblin Television. Silver Tree will also executive-produce and direct.
FATAL ATTRACTION joins Paramount+’s growing lineup of original series, including 1883, EVIL, THE GAME, THE GOOD FIGHT, HALO, MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, THE OFFER, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, STAR TREK: PICARD, STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS and more, as well as upcoming series including GREASE: RISE OF THE PINK LADIES, TULSA KING and WOLF PACK, among others.
About Paramount+
Paramount+, a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service from Paramount Global, combines live sports, breaking news and a mountain of entertainment. The premium streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel. The service is also the streaming home to unmatched sports programming, including every CBS Sports event, from golf to football to basketball and more, plus exclusive streaming rights for major sports properties, including some of the world’s biggest and most popular soccer leagues. Paramount+ also enables subscribers to stream local CBS stations live across the U.S. in addition to the ability to stream Paramount Global Streaming’s other live channels: CBS News Streaming Network for 24/7 news, CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis, and ET Live for entertainment coverage.
For more information about Paramount+, please visit www.paramountplus.com and follow @ParamountPlus on social platforms.
About Paramount Television Studios
Paramount Television Studios is a leading studio, developing and financing a wide range of cutting-edge and entertaining television content across all media platforms for distribution worldwide. The studio’s robust slate includes THE OFFER (Paramount+), GREASE: RISE OF THE PINK LADIES (Paramount+), FATAL ATTRACTION (Paramount+), AMERICAN GIGOLO (Showtime), “Made For Love” (HBO Max), “Station Eleven” (HBO Max), “Shantaram” (Apple TV+), “Time Bandits” (Apple TV+), “Defending Jacob” (Apple TV+), “Home Before Dark” (Apple TV+), Tom Clancy’s “Jack Ryan” (Prime Video), “Reacher” (Prime Video), “Devil in the White City” (Hulu), “The Spiderwick Chronicles” (Disney+), “Joe Pickett” (Spectrum Originals), “Long Slow Exhale” (Spectrum Originals), “The Haunting of Bly Manor” (Netflix) and “The Haunting of Hill House” (Netflix), among others. Paramount Television Studios is a subsidiary of Paramount (NASDAQ: PARA; PARAA), a global content company with premier television, film and digital entertainment brands.
About Amblin Television
Amblin Television, a long-time leader in quality programming, is a division of Amblin Partners, a content creation company led by Steven Spielberg. Amblin Television’s Presidents, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, oversee all development, production and programming for the company. Amblin Television currently has twelve projects in various stages of production and release including season two of “Resident Alien” for SYFY, “Halo” and “Fatal Attraction” for Paramount+, “Billy the Kid” for Epix, “Masters of the Air” for Apple, a third season of “Animaniacs” for Hulu, season four of “Roswell, New Mexico” for The CW, two seasons of “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai” for HBO Max, two seasons of “Tiny Toons Looniversity” for HBO Max and Cartoon Network, and documentaries “Big Vape” for Netflix, “Good Night Oppy” for Amazon Prime Video, and “Mama’s Boy” an adaptation of Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black’s autobiography.
Amblin Television also produced the Emmy, Golden Globe and Peabody Award-winning drama “The Americans” for FX, the Golden Globe-nominated and double Emmy Award-winning mini-series “Into the West” for TNT, Emmy-winning documentary series “Why We Hate” for Discovery, the Emmy-nominated HBO movie “All the Way” starring Bryan Cranston, “Smash” for NBC, “Under the Dome” for CBS, “Falling Skies” for TNT, “The Borgias,” “The United States of Tara” for Showtime, and “Las Vegas” for NBC. For more information, go to www.amblin.com.
The majority of the audience for Tom Cruise’s latest movie was over 35, something unheard of for a major blockbuster
After a year in which younger adults were the kingmakers at the box office, Paramount/Skydance’s “Top Gun: Maverick” has become one of the biggest hits of the pandemic era thanks in large part to Gen X moviegoers who saw the original “Top Gun” back in the 1980s.
With a four-day estimated opening of $156 million, “Top Gun: Maverick” has passed “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” for the highest Memorial Day weekend opening ever. Even “Maverick’s” three-day opening of $126.7 million ranks fourth-highest among all films released in the U.S. since theaters reopened.
And that’s especially impressive when you consider this: Paramount’s demographics reports show that a staggering 55% of the opening audience was over the age of 35. By comparison, that age group’s opening audience share for “The Batman” back in March was just 31%, while the opening audience share for Tom Cruise’s last blockbuster, “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” was 37% over 35.
Since “Top Gun: Maverick” was first added to Paramount’s release slate, both the studio and box office analysts expected the film to be driven by moviegoers in their 40s and 50s who have fond memories of seeing the original “Top Gun,” which became one of the top 10 highest grossing movies of the decade back in 1986. But for this sequel to show such excellent results off of that Gen X nostalgia is truly unique, as “Top Gun: Maverick” is performing like a superhero or a “Fast & Furious” film that has been historically driven by millennial and Gen Z fans.
But those younger demos are also flying into the Danger Zone, and that is even better news for “Top Gun: Maverick.” Paramount reports that 21% of the opening weekend audience came from the 18-24 age demo, showing that the overwhelming critical and audience acclaim for this sequel is grabbing the attention of those who weren’t born when “Top Gun” premiered.
While Cruise’s generation should continue to lead turnout for “Maverick,” there’s even more upside for the film’s interest among the 18-35 moviegoers that may not have shown up on opening weekend like they did for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” but could buy a ticket over the next two weeks thanks to the overwhelming post-release buzz. That should drive “Top Gun: Maverick” to an excellent run throughout June, even though it will face stiff competition from “Jurassic World: Dominion” and “Lightyear” in a few weeks.
Last May, CBS aired what we thought was All Rise’s series finale.
Most couples and storylines ended neatly, but the fans still longed for more.
In September, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) saved and renewed the series for a third season.
All Rise has been off the air for a year. What do we want to see the most when it returns?
These are some of our must-haves for the legal drama. Did any of your wishes make our list?
A Mark and Amy Wedding
Since the series picks up six months from where the second season finale ended, we’re hoping Mark and Amy’s wedding didn’t happen off-screen. It was such a beautiful proposal that we hope the wedding occurs sometime in the first few episodes.
Mark and Amy worked hard to be together. They have dealt with Rachel making a play at Mark, and Mark learned that Amy was technically still married.
Hopefully, Amy’s divorce is finalized, and the wedding can happen. The group needs a reason to celebrate.
Ideally, they could have a nontraditional wedding, where Lola stood up on Mark’s side as his “best person,” since Mark and Lola are so close. It’s one event that could bring the entire group of friends together.
Luke and Emily Reunite
Luke and Emily spent most of All Rise Season 2 apart as they dealt with their issues and found themselves.
Luke realized that Emily was the only person he felt truly safe with. They both confessed their love at the airport, but Emily still needed time alone to process her challenging year.
Since Luke promised to wait for her, hopefully, we’ll see some conversations about where their relationship is heading upon Emily’s return. They’re also both working for the public defender, so hopefully, we see them work together on some cases.
Lola Wins the Judgeship
Judge Lola Carmichael had a rough year last year. She was arrested unfairly during a protest, and a video went viral, nearly wrecking her career.
Many colleagues thought she’d try cases unfairly, especially when hate crimes came across her docket. Things became heated when she brought Sheriff McCarthy to justice, and Corrine Cuthbert defended him.
Lola thought her job was safe but learned that others were contesting her seat for judge in the finale.
Hopefully, Lola retains her chair and continues to kick butt in the courtroom. It looks like she’s in for a fight from the promo, but she’ll have her friends by her side.
Keep Lola’s Relationships Strong and in the Forefront
We love every bit of All Rise, but Lola Carmichael is at the center of the series, and so are her relationships.
Since the series has recast her husband Robin (Christian Keyes) as a stay-at-home dad, we hope to see more of the married duo.
Lola and Mark have always been fan-favorite friends as they bolster each other through issues, so they need to keep them front and center with their chats, whether on the steps or the rooftop terrace.
Hopefully, Lola and Sherri will bring lots of laughter and fun as they prep for court cases. We’ll miss Sara as part of their trio, but she got another job.
More Character Arcs about Mental Health and Victims Assistance
Emily has always been passionate about fighting for the rights of domestic abuse and mental illness clients. These subjects are rarely discussed and are often considered taboo.
In the second season, Emily admitted that she had been in therapy for a year. Hopefully, on All Rise Season 3, we could see some of her therapy sessions and notice how Emily uses those skills to help her clients.
Sara will be helping the victims’ assistance program during Season 3 after she realizes how much she helped Nikki get out of an abusive home. We hope we see more of Sara in action and not just as a supportive friend.
See Luke’s Restorative Justice Program Develop
Luke has a soft heart for first-time offenders, especially young ones, and tried to develop a restorative justice program back on Season 2.
Restorative justice involves making amends to the victim. Both Good Trouble and Law and Order: SVU also featured episodes with restorative justice in the last few years.
Now that Luke and Emily will be working together at the public defender’s office, hopefully, we can see them get help for both young offenders and their victims.
Mark and Luke Form a Strong Duo in the Courtroom
When Mark and Luke teamed up against Detective McCarthy and the sheriffs, they went after a giant shark that almost cost Luke his job.
Since they both survived and came out stronger, we’d love to see the two of them take on another considerable case together.
Ideally, we’d like it if Reggie Lee returned as DA Choi since all three of them were so much fun in scenes together.
See Georgia Recur and Lisa and Georgia’s Relationship Evolve More
Lisa Benner finally experienced love last season with Georgia (Amy Acker). Georgia was the first person to get Lisa to open up.
While it’s a pipe dream, we’d like to see Georgia’s answer to Lisa’s proposal and know if we get a two-weddings season!
What do YOU want to see on the third season? Share your thoughts below.
After 15 years in the game, English-born Carey Mulligan has proven herself to be one of the most talented and exciting actresses working today. With two Oscar nominations to her name, she’s delivered an incredible array of characters and performances, many of which should have been recognized by the Academy.
Many remember her film debut in Joe Wright’s breathtaking “Pride and Prejudice” (2005) as Kitty Bennett opposite Keira Knightley. Her big break came when she was given the starring role of Jenny in the coming-of-age drama “An Education” (2009). Helmed by Lone Scherfig, the movie’s best picture nomination by the Oscars marked the first time two women-directed features were nominated in the top category in the same year. The other was Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker,” which won. Mulligan’s wistfully methodical portrayal earned her a BAFTA statuette for best actress and an Oscar nom.
After her nom, Mulligan continued exploring challenging and dynamic roles over the next decade, working with some of the most talented actors and directors in Hollywood. As Irene, she surrendered to the Driver (Ryan Gosling) in an elevator in Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive” (2011). As Sissy, she displayed heartbreak in the lyrics of the song “New York, New York” opposite Michael Fassbender in Steve McQueen’s criminally underrated “Shame” (2011). Finally, as Jean, she showed frustration in choosing between Oscar Isaac and Justin Timberlake in the Coen Brothers’ masterpiece “Inside Llewyn Davis” (2013).
Her next Oscar nom wouldn’t happen until she was steered by Emerald Fennell in the revenge drama “Promising Young Woman” (2020). In the third instance of two female-directed films nominated for the Academy’s top prize, Mulligan won the second most precursors for her turn as Cassie, a woman looking to the right the wrong caused by the men who assaulted her friend during college. Unfortunately, with a global pandemic, a changing BAFTA voting practice that resulted in an egregious snub, and an overlong awards season, she wound up losing the prize to Frances McDormand’s third best actress win for “Nomadland.”
More to come from the wife of Mumford and Sons’ leading vocalist Marcus Mumford and the mother of two. She’ll star opposite Adam Sandler and Paul Dano in “Spaceman” from Johan Renck. She’s also expected to be in the awards conversation once again when she takes on the uncovering of the sexual misconduct of Harvey Weinstein in the #MeToo movement feature “She Said” opposite Zoe Kazan and director Maria Schrader. The film is scheduled to be released later this year and distributed by Universal Pictures.
She’s also in the middle of filming “Maestro,” the next directorial effort of Bradley Cooper, where she’ll play Felicia Montealegre, the wife of Leonard Bernstein. The film will be released by Netflix and is expected in 2023.
To align with her birthday on May 28, Variety is ranking her 10 best film performances to date to celebrate her birthday. Read through the list below and watch the clip of the “scene that proves it” with each entry by clicking on the image.
Honorable mentions: “Pride and Prejudice” (2005), “The Great Gatsby” (2013), “The Dig” (2021)
“Such things should never happen, but we die / The swallow finds an oak to nest her young / Defenseless between the Earth and the sky / Uncounted beneath the vast, indifferent sun.” These poetic lyrics, intoned by Nick Cave over saintly instrumentation, are just a taste of Seven Psalms, a new spoken-word album previewed in April by the beloved Bad Seeds frontman. If you’re a Cave follower hoping for ominous gothic rock serenades in the vein of “Red Right Hand,” (a track made famous by the Scream movies and as the Peaky Blinders theme song), you may be surprised to learn that there’s no deep-baritone crooning to be found here. Much like the first half of “White Elephant” from 2021’s Carnage, this seven-track opus is all thought-provoking talk over music co-written by longtime collaborator and Bad Seeds bandmate Warren Ellis, marking their second musical project as a duo. Much like their previous outing, this project also sprung to life during the pandemic. “While in lockdown I wrote a number of psalms, or small, sacred songs—one a day for a week,” Cave said in a statement about the new LP. “The seven psalms are presented as one long meditation—on faith, rage, love, grief, mercy, sex, and praise. A veiled, contemplative offering borne of an uncertain time. I hope you like it.” Thanks Nick, we’re sure we will.[Gil Macias]
Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home.
We at IDA are heartbroken at the passing of Heddy Honigmann, documentarian extraordinaire and a true master of the form. As big fans and admirers, we are dedicating this week’s Screen Time to celebrate her and her art.
Honigmann’s Buddy takes an unsentimental look at six canine and human pairs to “reveal what’s really given and received.” Many critics have noted the ease with which the filmmaker would open people up to trust her and the camera. “I don’t do interviews. I make conversation,” she once said. Buddy, streaming on Mubi, is a shining example of that approach.
In O Amor Natural, Honigmann explores the erotic poetry of the great Brazilian poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade and its relationship with people who read it. The filmmaker travels across Rio de Janeiro and asks elderly men and women to read some of Drummond’s explicit verses, and weaves together an ode to love interspersed with humor, nostalgia and grief. Watch it on OVID.
Also on YouTube is a conversation with Honigmann, hosted in 2002 by Minneapolis’ Walker Art Center, when they presented a retrospective of her work. In this conversation with City Pages arts editor Michael Tortorello, she speaks of, among other things, being a medical school dropout who was simultaneously writing poetry and searching for “a film school somewhere.”
A lot of Honigmann’s fans count Forever as their favorite. This documentary travels to the Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, and, moving through the gravesites of legendary icons, it meditates on the relationship between the dead and the people who inherit their world, outlive them, and keep drawing inspiration from their art. Watch the film on OVID.
The Underground Orchestra follows musicians on the Paris subway, none of whom are native French, most being refugees and members of an orchestra. Honigmann befriends them and allows us a peek into their lives as they play music in their quest for better lives. Watch the film on Eye Player.
In Metal and Melancholy, Honigmann’s “offbeat road movie,” the filmmaker travels with taxi drivers in Lima who, given Peru’s inflationary economy, have taken to driving their own cars as taxis in order to overcome financial hardship. In true Honigmann style, the conversations are candid and the accounts heartfelt. Watch the film on OVID.
Ukrainian soldiers launched a counteroffensive yesterday in Kherson, the key city that Russia has used as a staging ground for operations across southern Ukraine. Ukrainian forces attempted to hold off Russia’s efforts to conquer and cut off a strategic strip of eastern Ukraine. Follow the latest updates from the war.
The announcement of the Ukrainian counteroffensive — “Hold on, Kherson, we’re coming!” the military said yesterday morning on Twitter — signaled what might prove to be a new chapter in a war that has geopolitical, economic and humanitarian significance.
In recent weeks, Russian forces, stretched thin and taking heavy losses as they gained ground in the eastern Donbas region, have concentrated their efforts on fortifying defensive positions in the south. It was not clear if they were prepared for the Ukrainian counterattack.
Morale building: Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, yesterday visited the country’s northeast, near Kharkiv, where he praised military forces for their success in pushing Russians back from the city’s outskirts. Kharkiv, which endured months of shelling that killed many civilians and forced tens of thousands to flee, was struck again hours after he left.
In other news from the war:
A solemn visit to Uvalde
President Biden traveled to Uvalde, Texas, with the first lady, Jill Biden, to visit a memorial outside Robb Elementary School where 19 children and two teachers were gunned down last week.
Less than two weeks earlier, the couple had observed a moment of silence near the site of a racist massacre at a supermarket in Buffalo. The frequency of the shootings has spurred a new round of negotiations over gun control measures in Congress, and some liberal states, including New York and California, are moving to pass stricter gun-control laws.
The Justice Department said yesterday that it would review the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Uvalde. The protracted response came despite the fact that some children inside the classrooms were calling 911 for help, raising questions about whether lives could have been saved had officials acted sooner.
Bipartisan approach: After Uvalde, Republicans said they wanted to do something, at least on issues of school security and mental health. Democrats are demanding at least stronger background checks at gun shows and internet gun bazaars. Many Democrats say they believe that Congress should go even further.
A June runoff in Colombia’s election
Two anti-establishment candidates, Gustavo Petro, a leftist, and Rodolfo Hernández, a right-wing populist, captured the top two spots in Colombia’s presidential election yesterday, delivering a stunning blow to the dominant conservative political class. The two will compete in a runoff election on June 19.
The election is shaping up to be one of the most consequential in the country’s history. At stake: the country’s economic model, democratic integrity and the livelihoods of millions of people who have been pushed into poverty. Colombia has long been the strongest U.S. ally in the region: Petro has called for a reset of the bilateral relationship, including a re-examination of a trade agreement.
A win for Petro would mark a watershed moment for one of the most politically conservative societies in Latin America. His rise reflects not just a leftist shift across Latin America, but also an anti-incumbent fervor that has gained strength as the pandemic has deepened poverty and inequality.
By the numbers: With more than 99 percent of the ballots counted on Sunday evening, Petro received more than 40 percent of the vote. Hernández received over 28 percent, an unexpected second-place victory ahead of the conservative establishment candidate, Federico Gutiérrez, who had been polling in second place.
THE LATEST NEWS
Around the World
It’s easy to forget today that pay phones were once essential in the daily lives of New Yorkers; in 1978, a pay phone in New York’s Penn Station was the busiest in the U.S., with an average pickup rate of 5,500 times a month.
As the effort to remove the final examples from the streets of New York City was completed this week, reporters for The Times looked back through our archives for stories about and images of the humble yet ubiquitous pay phone. One 1966 classic, about two stolen chimpanzees, begins: “Tarzan and Jane were found in a Brooklyn phone booth early yesterday.”
ARTS AND IDEAS
A summer of recommendations
The months ahead are shaping up to be the most normal summer in years — even if things aren’t quite back to normal.
Perhaps you’re considering a summer break. Don’t assume that old travel patterns will necessarily continue. Flights may be more challenging than you remember, and beach houses may be harder to find in some places and easier in others.
If you’re staying home, here are some recommendations for great barbecue and cookout recipes that can be prepared ahead of time. That way, you don’t need to be working in the kitchen while everyone else is having fun. The ultimate advance-preparation meal is a picnic, and our recipe columnist David Tanis has plenty of advice.
And if all you really want to do is to get lost in a great movie or a wonderful book, we have you covered. Here’s The Times’s list of the 101 most interesting movies of the season and our Books desk colleagues’ guide to summer reading. They have 88 books to transport you this season, including thrillers, historical fiction, romance and cookbooks.
Gigi Hadid showed another way to wear a monokini in the city. While all the stars are walking the streets of Cannes, Gigi remains in New York with her daughter and is engaged in personal projects. So, the model became a guest of the party on the occasion of the launch of a new collection of swimwear, which she created with Frankies Bikinis.
Gigi Hadid has returned to the runways after taking a break from the birth of her daughter with musician Zayn Malik, and now she is once again striving to get to the top of the world’s most sought-after models. In addition, to photoshoots and participation in the show, Bella’s older sister Hadid is developing a personal brand and even acts in a new role as a designer. The celebrity has teamed up with longtime friend Frankies Bikinis brand creative director Francesca Aiello to create a swimwear collection.
At the bikini and monokini launch party, Gigi appeared in one of the novelties. The model wore a one-piece white swimsuit with a delicate blue pattern along with low-rise trousers, an extremely short shirt, from which only sleeves remained, and classic pumps and a cap. We remember the styling trick for the summer: as the celebrity showed, the monokini can play the role of a spectacular bodysuit.
In a previous post, One of the most beautiful couples in showbiz has announced the end of their relationship. The separation of 26-year-old Gigi Hadid and 28-year-old Zayn Malek occurred against the backdrop of a family scandal: the model’s mother, Yolanda Hadid, accused her daughter’s lover of domestic violence. According to her, the singer hit her when she came to their house to visit her daughter and granddaughter – Zayn and Gigi are raising one-year-old Kai, whose birthday was celebrated in September.
Thanks to “Stranger Things” Season 4, Kate Bush’s hit song “Running Up That Hill (Deal With God)” has finally made its way to the top of the charts for the first time ever. It only took 37 years to get there.
After the new season dropped of Netflix this weekend, the track originally recorded in 1985 soared to the No. 1 spot on iTunes and landed on streaming charts for the first time. It currently sits at 106 on Spotify’s Top 200, with 1,099,174 plays. The “Stranger Things 4” soundtrack – which also features the Talking Heads, KISS, and the Beach Boys, among others – holds the No. 5 spot on iTunes’ Top 200 Albums.
The song first comes into play during the season premiere, when Max (Sadie Sink) strolls through her school hallways listening to it on her Walkman. The song returns a few episodes later, taking on added significance as she mourns her brother’s death and struggles to escape meeting the same fate.
“Running Up That Hill” might be Max’s favorite song, but she isn’t the only Kate Bush fan among the cast of “Stranger Things,” which is set in the 1980s. Winona Ryder accessorized her premiere look with a Kate Bush pin and called the English singer-songwriter “a hero of mine.”
“I’ve been obsessed with her since I was a little girl,” she told USA Today. “I’ve also for the last seven years been dropping hints on set wearing my Kate Bush T-shirts. I don’t know if you did this, but in my school you had to dress down for P.E., and sometimes I just wouldn’t. I’d just sit there with my headphones listening to her. She’s a hero of mine.”
Released in 1985, “Running Up That Hill” was the lead single on Bush’s fifth album, “Hounds of Love.” It peaked at No. 3 on UK’s Singles Chart and reached 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2012, Bush released a remix that peaked at 22 on the Irish Singles Chart and 6 on the UK Singles Chart.
Both “Stranger Things” and Kate Bush fans delighted at the song’s inclusion, though some diehard Bush fans rolled their eyes at younger generations learning her music through a Netflix show.
Read below for some of the best reactions on social media.
dear billy is genuinely the best episode in the entirety of stranger things, i was on the edge of my seat the whole time. the last 5 minutes? masterpiece. the incorporation of running up that hill? incredible. sadie sink? emmy award worthy #StrangerThings4
every person I know including miss stranger things herself uses Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill as a song about death and longing and grief but Kate herself is like oh yeah it’s about two spouses swapping genders so they can understand each other better in their relationship
— nebula should have killed thanos (@gwenstacying) May 28, 2022
i feel like i no longer have a personality now that the locals are discovering running up that hill thanks to stranger things
It’s been less than 36 hours since Stranger Things 4 dropped and Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” is all over TikTok. It’s beautiful that people’s biggest takeaways from Stranger Things 4 is Kate Bush’s impeccable artistry.
People being sad that Kate Bush is “going mainstream” (i.e being heard by a new generation of kids) because she’s featured on Stranger Things. Weird. She’s brilliant. Everyone should hear Running up that Hill for the first time once. https://t.co/ldbNWoQFJK
— Emily O’Beirne – all canoes lead to #kacy (@emilyobwrites) May 29, 2022
CNN’s Dana Bash went head-to-head with Rep. Dan Crenshaw about the ongoing gun control debate that has reopened with new intensity following last week’s mass school shooting, pointing out to the Texas Republican that there are more guns than people in the U.S.
Reporting from Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and 2 adults were massacred at Robb Elementary School, Bash opened by asking Crenshaw what he sees as the “solution” to mass shootings, considering that he has said “no to a lot of the solutions people are talking about.”
“The way that the answers are coming out now, it’s that nothing is going to change,” she said. “And I don’t think people in this community and across the country want to hear that after their babies are being massacred by these guns.”
Crenshaw, who was elected to Texas’ second congressional district in 2019 and is running for reelection this year, argued that increasing security at schools would have the most “immediate” and “tangible” effects.
Bash suggested that securing schools and restricting access to guns “in a way that respects the second amendment” is not mutually exclusive, but Crenshaw disagreed. Not only would Democratic gun control policies “infringe on the rights of millions and millions of gun owners,” but they also “probably wouldn’t have the outcome you’re hoping for,” he told Bash.
“The correlation between gun violence and gun ownership is not very strong, it’s not as strong as people tend to believe it is,” he said.
Bash persisted. “Congressman, it sounds like you’re saying guns in this country are not a problem,” she replied. “I mean, there are 300-something million people, 400 million guns. You don’t see that as a problem?”
Crenshaw said no, citing the country’s longstanding “culture” of gun ownership. “If I destroyed all my guns, it would have zero effect on gun homicides because I’m not the person who goes and shoots somebody,” he said. “I am a person who might protect somebody from being shot.”
“There were 19 people who were highly trained in the hallway and they couldn’t save these children,” Bash responded, referring to the fact that Uvalde police waited more than an hour to enter the classroom where the shooting took place.
They both agreed that this was, indeed, a problem, one that Bash pointed out could never have been anticipated when the 2nd amendment was written.
“Do you really think the Founding Fathers when they wrote ‘well-regulated militia,’ intended for enough guns – weapons of war – that you are so highly trained in using, should be used to massacre children?” she asked.
According to the non-partisan voter information organization Vote Smart, Crenshaw holds a 92% approval rating from the NRA and won their endorsement for his upcoming election. He voted “no” on all key gun reform legislation during his tenure, except for the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021, on which he abstained from voting.
Cannes sets up audience hits and award winners for global box office success; some will even make it to the Oscar race.
What does winning a prize at Cannes mean in the long run? It depends on which one — the Palme d’Or and acting prizes have more impact than any of the nine awards. For every Penélope Cruz in “Volver” or Rooney Mara in “Carol,” who went on to Oscar nominations, there’s a Renate Reinsve, who rode a surge of nominations for “Worst Person in the World,” but got no Oscar mention.
A Cannes prize can help a Screenplay winner like “Boy from Heaven” to land distribution, including in North America. And it boosts a film’s chances of being submitted for the Oscar by its home country, although neither Swedish-Egyptian filmmaker Tarik Saleh’s “Boy from Heaven” nor Iranian-Danish Ali Abbasi’s “Holy Spider,” which won Best Actress for Zar Amir Ebrahimi as a journalist fighting for justice for slain prostitutes, will be submitted by Egypt or Iran, respectively. Both filmmakers are persona non grata in those countries for taking on taboo subjects. (Sweden or Denmark could do the honors, though.)
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“This movie is about women,” said Amir Ebrahimi. “It’s about their bodies, it’s a movie full of hands, feet, breasts, sex, everything that is impossible to show in Iran. Thank you Ali Abbasi for being so crazy and so generous, and thank you for directing against all odds this powerful film.”
“Holy Spider”
Most of the non-English-language films at Cannes that could wind up in the Oscar race will compete for Best International Feature Film, although in recent years “Parasite,” “Cold War,” “Drive My Car,” and “Worst Person in the World” wound up competing in other races as well, including Screenplay, Cinematography, Director, and Picture.
Cannes can make careers. “25 filmmakers made love for the first time with the cinema and this Cannes film festival,” said Rossy de Palma, president of the Camera d’Or jury, which voted the first-film prize to Un Certain Regard entry “War Pony,” an indigenous story directed by Riley Keough and Gina Gammell, the only American winner from the Cannes selection; David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future,” Kelly Reichardt’s “Showing Up,” and James Gray’s well-reviewed “Armageddon Time” did not make the Competition jury cut.
The jury was positively radiant after their two week experience debating 21 films. “I’m terribly sad, happy, and joyful,” said president Vincent Lindon. “I loved everything: the people and the films, the electricity that permeates the air in the streets. The jury was so generous, demanding, and combative, as spectators and film experts…The riveting and passionate debates were exhausting. The decisions were all reached with a nice majority.”
“Broker”
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Neon did well in Cannes, scoring their third Palme winner in a row. The “Titane” and “Parasite” distributor will be sure to push their surprise Palme d’Or winner “Triangle of Sadness,” which the distributor won in a bidding war, plunking down north of $8 million. The hilarious satire of the super-rich became the consensus pick for the diverse jury of men and women, actors and filmmakers, even though Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund won in 2017 for “The Square.” But the film will be competing on its merits as an English-language film, Östlund’s first; it should prove a commercial theatrical release, and a screenplay Oscar nomination would be a good bet.
The filmmaker kissed every jury member. He sought to entertain and provoke post-screening conversation at the same time, he said: “It’s a unique thing with cinema, watching together, to have something to talk about but also have fun and have an experience we want to share with others.”
Neon will push Japan to submit “Broker,” from Cannes regular and 2018 “Shoplifters” Palme d’Or winner and Oscar nominee Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose Korean star Song Kang Ho (“Parasite”) took home Best Actor. It was a good day for Korea, which should submit for Oscars the Cannes Directing prize-winner Park Chan-wook’s moody noir policier “Decision to Leave” (Mubi), starring Tang Wei as a femme fatale suspected of murder. This stylish critical hit could play for audiences around the world.
“With the pandemic, borders between countries were closed,” said Park. “It was difficult to communicate; sometimes it was quite complicated. We were very afraid of each other. And movie theaters were empty. We have overcome the virus and hopefully people will go back to the theaters.”
“Decision to Leave”
Courtesy Cannes Film Festival
The shared Jury Prize went to Poland’s “Eo” (“Hee-haw”), from puckish 84-year-old Cannes perennial Jerzy Skolimowski, who said, “Thank you, my donkeys, eeoooo!” Belgium will have a dilemma when it comes to choosing its Oscar submission. They have three choices: “The Eight Mountains,” co-directed by husband-and-wife team Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix Van Groenigen, who learned Italian to shoot in Italy. Another Belgian winner, though, was those frequent Cannes winners the Dardenne brothers, who have won the Palme twice before (“Rosetta,” “L’Enfant”) and thus settled for a Special Prize for the 75th anniversary of the festival for their moving drama “Tori and Lokita,” which tells the story of two African refugees under duress. This film has not been picked up in North America.
The likeliest Belgian submission, however, the one which inspired the most cheers among the Palais audience, was Lukas Dhont’s tender relationship drama “Close,” which shared the second most important award, the Grand Prix, with Claire Denis’ English-language romance “Stars at Noon,” starring Joe Alwyn and Margaret Qualley. The veteran French filmmaker discovered the young actress at Cannes in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “went into a state of ecstasy,” she said. Both are distributed by A24.
“These last few years, we had to stand at a distance from those we loved, to protect them,” said Dhont. “I realized how much I needed my friends…I wanted to make a film of tenderness about young people…When you allow people to come close to you, it can be superpower.”
France will have several candidates for Oscar submission, per usual, including Competition title “Mother and Son,” from Léonor Seraille; neither “Brother and Sister” from Arnaud Desplechin nor Michel Hazanavicius’ opening-night comedy “Final Cut” were well enough received to be strong candidates. Mia Hansen-Love’s Léa Seydoux romance “One Fine Morning” (Sony Pictures Classics), which unaccountably played Director’s Fortnight, is another possibility.
“Corsage”
Cannes
And Austria could submit lauded filmmaker Marie Kreutzer’s irreverent costume drama “Corsage,” starring versatile Berlin actress Vicky Krieps (2021 Cannes entry “Bergman Island”) as Austria-Hungary’s rebellious Empress Elisabeth (“Sissi”), which many thought should have been programmed in the Competition. Krieps shared the Un Certain Regard Best Actress award. With the right handling from IFC Films, the revisionist 19th-century royal slice-of-life could compete for Best Actress and Best Costume Design, as well as International Feature Film.
On the documentary front, Cannes has always had trouble finding prime slots for the year’s best documentaries, ceding that ground to Sundance and other festivals from Tribeca and Toronto to New York. The highest-profile documentary, Brett Morgen’s “Moonage Daydream” (Neon), the IMAX-bound kaleidoscopic portrait of David Bowie, debuted in the midnight section, while playing in Special Screenings were Ethan Coen’s “Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind” (A24) and Shaunak Sen’s lyrical portrait of the black kites of Delhi, Sundance-debut “All That Breathes” (HBO), which won the Cannes 2022 documentary jury prize. All could be Oscar contenders.
“Elvis”
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As for the more mainstream Cannes premieres, Joseph Kosinski’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” starring Tom Cruise, is wowing at the box office, and will likely compete in the same Oscar tech categories as most studio sequels; a screenplay nomination for writers Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie would also be well-deserved. One Oscar it could win: Lady Gaga’s song “Hold My Hand.”
Also heading for likely Oscar consideration is Baz Luhrmann’s dazzling musical biopic “Elvis” (Warner Bros.), which could follow the “Bohemian Rhapsody” playbook and not only vault Austin Butler into the Best Actor race, but Luhrmann for director and wife Catherine Martin for another Costume Oscar, not to mention Sound, Editing, and Hair and Make-up. As for “Three Thousand Years of Longing,” George Miller’s gorgeously mounted fantasy and romance starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, the September release will need special handling from MGM/UA in order to last through to Oscar season.
And Zauner takes her baseball as seriously as her “piggy T’s.” After all, her last band was called Little Big League.
While Zauner wore her custom #69 Mets jersey with “JBREKKIE” emblazoned on the back, she was not-so-secretly rooting for the opposing team, the Philadelphia Phillies. “My socks / heart,” Zauner captioned a close-up of her ankles, which bore the Fightin’ Phils’ Phanatic.
During last week’s SNL finale, Japanese Breakfast played “Be Sweet” and “Paprika” from their acclaimed album, Jubilee.
Soon thereafter, SNL‘s Emmy-winning castmember Bowen Yang provided some context about why Zauner was the perfect choice to close out the season in an admiring tribute:
My first exposure to Michelle was seeing her dressed in a Korean hanbok, shredding guitar while sitting on an 18-wheeler. I immediately knew I would be obsessed with this person. Her recent output has been just as thrilling and affecting. Crying in H Mart is a memoir I will never forget, and the Japanese Breakfast record Jubilee captures joy in its true, ephemeral spirit. Like all her work, they are beautiful conduits for empathy.
This is what makes Michelle so incredible to me and many others. While she intertwines the threads of her art into perfect plaits, she lets us find something in our own lives, a new strand with which to adorn ourselves. It doesn’t get better than that. Everybody wants to love her.
Select Festivals: DOC NYC, DOXA, Inside Out, Frameline, Outfest, Los Angeles Asian Pacific, Santa Barbara, Athena, Cleveland, In-Edit, Hawaii, Doc’n Roll, Woodstock, Florida
About: Ferocious female rockers Fanny, who shattered glass ceilings in the ’70s, collecting fans like David Bowie before being buried in retro record bins, reunite fifty years later with a new record deal and a chance to rewrite history.
“POV,” the longest-running series for independent documentaries on television, has unveiled the majority of its slate for the series’ 35th season, which launches on July 11 with Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan.”
Neighborhood gentrification on Chicago’s south side, land defenders in the Philippines and the 2018 Zimbabwean general election are among the many topics that will be examined by the 14 feature docus in the upcoming season, which will run through Jan. 16.
PBS has revealed 13 of the upcoming season’s “POV” films beyond “Wuhan Wuhan,” an observational documentary about the first wave of the COVID-19 lockdown, with one more entry slated to be unveiled in June.
While celebrity driven docs are all the rage with streaming services, “POV” will stay true to its roots and program social issues films that delve into topics including environmental justice (“Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust,” July 18) immigration (“The Last Out,” Oct. 3) and systemic inequity (“Let the Little Light Shine,” Dec. 12).
“PBS is proud that after 35 years, “POV” continues to deliver artistically unique, essential, and dynamic films by a diversity of creators. As our passionate, inclusive, and intellectually curious audience continues to grow, POV remains a powerful linchpin in the mission of public television,” said Sylvia Bugg, PBS’s chief programming executive and general manager, general audience programming.
The lineup will also feature eight international titles, including 2021 Oscar-shortlisted docus “President” (Aug. 8) and “Faya Dayi” (Aug. 29) as well as recently acquired titles from film festivals like Sundance (“Midwives,” Nov. 21) and Hot Docs (“Delikado,” Sept. 26).
Reid Davenport’s “I Didn’t See You There” will close the season when it airs in January. The doc, which premiered at Sundance 2022 and has since become a film festival favorite, offers audiences an unflinching view of the world from a disabled person’s perspective.
“As we reach back with titles that highlight our collective enormous histories, showcase a diversity of forward-looking veteran and new filmmakers who challenge conventional narratives, and as we as an organization evolve our own understanding of what accessibility means, we are poised for an unforgettably audacious new season,” said Erika Dilday, executive director of American Documentary and executive producer of “POV.”
More than half of the films this season were directed by women, and two thirds by filmmakers of color. In addition, half come from filmmakers of Asian descent, and several titles are by and about people with disabilities. The series will feature stories from China, Cuba, Ethiopia, Greenland, Myanmar, Norway, the Philippines, Zimbabwe, and feature contemporary Muslim perspectives from both outside and within the U.S.
“These films cover a myriad of topics, the political and social issues of our times, but what makes them remarkable is that they are rooted in human experience, bringing viewers into the lives of generous protagonists, active participants in the telling of their own stories,” “POV” executive producer Chris White said in a prepared statement. “These films are artful illustrations of how we actually operate in the world, relationally. What are our relationships to each other, to our institutions, to power?”
Prior to the release of “Wuhan, Wuhan,” “POV” will air the Oscar nominated documentary “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” on June 20. The encore presentation will coincide with the 40th anniversary of Chin’s death and is part of four days of remembrance for the Chinese American in Detroit.
Each film will premiere on a Monday night and will be available for streaming concurrently with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms. Additional titles, including the fifth anniversary season of the Emmy Award-winning series, “POV Shorts,” plus streaming projects, will be announced at a later date.
“POV” 35th Season Lineup:
“Wuhan Wuhan” Director: Yung Chang Premieres: July 11, 2022
“Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust” Director/Producer: Ann Kaneko Premieres: July 18, 2022
“Winter’s Yearning” Directors: Sidse Torstholm Larsen and Sturla Pilskog Premieres: July 25, 2022
“He’s My Brother” Directors/Producers: Cille Hannibal and Christine Hanberg Premieres: Aug. 1, 2022
“President” Director: Camilla Nielsson Premieres: Aug. 8, 2022
“Faya Dayi” Director/Producer: Jessica Beshir Premieres: Aug. 29, 2022
George Shapiro, executive producer for the seminal Emmy-winning sitcom “Seinfeld” and well-respected Hollywood personal manager, died Thursday in his Beverly Hills home, according to multiple outlets. He was 91.
Along with his longtime collaborator and friend Howard West, Shapiro launched Shapiro/West Productions in 1973, which managed top comedians such as Andy Kaufman, “Welcome Back, Kotter” star Gabe Kaplan, Carl Reiner and Seinfeld.
Reps for Shapiro/West Productions did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for a statement.
“George was one of the sweetest guys on the planet,” Danny DeVito, who played Shapiro in the 1999 Andy Kaufman biopic “Man on the Moon,” said in a statement on Saturday. “We got to see that smiling face every Friday night during the ‘Taxi’ days. He never missed a show. Peace brother.”
Norman Lear also sang Shapiro’s praises. “One of the dearest people I have ever known, George Shapiro, just passed. I bless our friendship and, at 99, I’m sure I’ll see him relatively soon,” he wrote on Twitter, sharing an image of himself with the late producer.
Shapiro, a Bronx native, graduated from New York University with a degree in advertising and marketing and served a stint in the Army, after which he took a job in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency. Soon afterward, he climbed the ranks to become an agent, where he assembled talent for shows like “The Steve Allen Show,” “That Girl” and “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” He also packaged specials for Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Channing.
After leaving the William Morris Agency, he set his sights on personal management and producing. His close partnership with client Kaufman — for whom he executive produced specials for ABC, NBC and Showtime — became the subject of 1999’s “Man on the Moon,” which starred Jim Carrey as Kaufman and DeVito as Shapiro. West and Shapiro also executive produced the film which featured cameos from West (as an ABC executive) and Shapiro (as a club owner).
The Emmy winner also produced features like 1987’s rom-com “Summer School,” directed by Reiner and starring Mark Harmon.
He and West followed that success with Seinfeld’s self-titled NBC sitcom, which ran for nine seasons from 1989-98 and became one of the biggest hits on the small screen.
Alongside producing specials and series, he also has production credits on docs such as the Emmy-nominated “If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast,” with stars Tony Bennett, Norman Lear, Stan Lee, Dick Van Dyke, Betty White, Mel Brooks and Kirk Douglas.
Additional credits include “The Dick Van Dyke Show: Now in Living Color! A Special Tribute to Carl Reiner,” “The Bronx Boys,” Broadway’s “Colin Quinn: Long Story Short” and “Jerry Seinfeld: Stand-Up Confidential,” which was the influential comic’s first special.
More recently, Shapiro executive produced Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” and Seinfeld’s Netflix comedy standup specials “Jerry Before Seinfeld” and “23 Hours to Kill.” His final produced film was 2021’s “The Super Bob Einstein Movie” for HBO, about the life of the late actor and comedian Bob Einstein.
He is survived by Melody Shapiro, his lifelong friend and mother of his children; son Danny and his wife, Hester; daughter Carrie and her husband, Mark; and Stefanie, as well as grandchildren Adam, Nathan, Audrey, Skylar and Alana.
Cannes: Maryam Touzani’s story about a closeted maalem and his handsome apprentice is actually a defense of the institution of marriage.
When an aging couple operating a struggling Moroccan dress shop hire a dashing young apprentice, some of the first words out of his mouth are “I work fast.” That also describes the approach of “The Blue Caftan” director Maryam Touzani, who sets up its straightforward premise so quickly that you’d be forgiven for thinking you had the entire film figured out within five minutes. A closeted gay tailor, who fights with his wife about money, begins mentoring a young man who’s more beautiful than any item in his shop. Gee, what could possibly happen here?
But rather than use that premise to blow up the status quo, Touzani meticulously works backwards, illustrating that there was so much more to these relationships than we could have possibly guessed. Working with an intricacy that rivals that of the craftsman at the center of her film, the auteur crafts a surprisingly warm story that subverts expectations at almost every turn. While “The Blue Caftan” is a film about a gay man exploring his sexuality, the love story at its core is really one between him and his wife. It’s about the friendship and understanding that can form over the course of a lifetime spent together, no matter how unusual the arrangement. As much as anything else, Touzani’s delightful sophomore feature is a defense of the institution of marriage, a reminder that each human soul is worth a lifetime of exploration to someone.
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Hilam (Saleh Bakri), is a maalem, a type of Moroccan dressmaker dedicated to sewing beautiful caftans by hand. He’s a master of his art form, but the business he runs with his wife Mina (Lubna Azabal) is struggling. Hilam’s devotion to old world craftsmanship is quite incompatible with contemporary market realities, and he frequently loses business to shops that use sewing machines to deliver products faster. This is a constant source of angst for Mina, who worries about her husband’s inability to meet deadlines. After long days of bickering about money, Hilam frequently “works late” at the shop, stopping at bathhouses on the way home to have sex with men.
Those delays in delivering caftans lead the couple to Youssef (Ayoub Missioui), a young apprentice brought in to expedite things, who shows a serious interest in learning Hilam’s craft. Hilam is thrilled to take the young man on (for reasons that can’t possibly have anything to do with Youssef’s movie star good looks), but Mina is immediately suspicious of him. She refuses to believe that anyone could be truly interested in learning Hilam’s economically inefficient approach to dressmaking, and expects the boy to leave for a higher paying job at the first opportunity.
But he doesn’t leave, and Youssef’s contributions to the shop become increasingly important. Because, as it turns out, Mina has cancer. She’s suffered from breast cancer for years, undergoing countless tests and a mastectomy, and she has all but given up on surviving. But Hilam is unwilling — or unable — to let anything die. Just like he clings to traditional sewing methods, he refuses to give up on his wife, constantly seeking out new doctors despite everyone telling him things are hopeless. Their marriage may be one of necessity and convenience, but Hilam takes his duties as a husband seriously.
In the midst of all of this, Hilam works on a particularly stunning blue caftan for a wealthy client. Even by his high standards, the work is incredible, and Youssef and Mina both look at his craftsmanship with awe. And as his wife’s health absorbs more and more of his attention, she becomes increasingly invested in seeing the dress finished.
It becomes clear just how much respect exists between Hilam and Mina, and those little marital annoyances fade away as she looks at him through the eyes of someone whose days are numbered. She knows that, despite all of his shortcomings, her husband possesses a truly remarkable skill. And as the prospect of losing his wife becomes more of an inevitability, Hilam realizes that he could not have asked for a more understanding partner.
Which leaves Youssef as something of a third wheel. The young man quickly falls in love with Hilam, telling him as much, and Hilam’s raw attraction to his apprentice is palpable. But rather than play the role of homewrecker, Youssef becomes the glue that holds the family together. He takes a more active role in the shop’s operations to give Hilam time to care for his wife, and even begins grocery shopping and doing household chores for the couple so they can spend time together. None of this is lost on Mina, who finds ways of subtly encouraging the two men’s carnal urges. So long as it doesn’t distract her husband from finishing his stunning blue caftan, which she is determined to see before she dies.
For a film about the husband of a cancer patient taking a lover while his wife dies, “The Blue Caftan” is remarkably sweet and life affirming. Anchored by three remarkable performances and a beautiful script that never wastes a line, Maryam Touzani made a film that oozes love from almost every frame. While the relationship dynamic at play is not the stuff that dreams are made of, the characters make it work. And rather than lamenting their fates, “The Blue Caftan” opts to celebrate the process of making it work. As the film grapples with mortality and persecution, it’s anchored in a simple idea: we only have one life, and we only share it with a finite number of people. Those relationships mean something whether you want them to or not, so you best make them count.
While some might find the film’s approach to homosexuality within a straight passing marriage peculiar — in the end, suppressing and compartmentalizing everything works out flawlessly for Halim — the characters are all so beautifully sincere that you can’t help but root for everyone. The complex relationship between Mina, Halim, and Youssef is the stuff of New Order songs, and it’s the kind of arrangement that only works out between three genuinely good people. Fortunately, that’s exactly what we’re dealing with.
“The Blue Caftan” is a film about the many different kinds of love — romantic, platonic, familial, sexual — and the ways they can’t help but intersect at complicated moments in our lives. But even more than that, it’s a film about people who find themselves sandblasted by reality. The harshness of this world strips away the facades they spent a lifetime cultivating. In their most vulnerable moments, when there’s nothing to hide, Touzani displays her characters’ true selves with an attention to detail that would make Halim proud. And it’s nice, for a change, that a film reveals its characters were all far better people than they would have had us believe.
Grade: A-
“The Blue Caftan” premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
The trip of your life continues: Netflix has confirmed today the second season of Welcome to Eden, after the success of the series in its very first weeks. For the third week in a row, season one of Welcome to Eden continues to rank highly on Netflix’s global Top 10 list for non-English TV. The series has accumulated 116,970,000 hours viewed since its premiere and is currently in the Top 10 in 68 countries including Spain, France, Germany, Turkey, Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil.
In this new season, mystery and danger at the island keep growing and Eden Fundation welcomes new characters played by Carlos Torres (The Queen of Flow) and Nona Sobo (Entrevías), who join the series’ cast. Amaia Aberasturi (Akelarre), Amaia Salamanca (Despite everything), Belinda Peregrín, Berta Castañé, Lola Rodríguez (Veneno), Sergio Momo (Élite),Begoña Vargas (High Seas), Tomy Aguilera (SKAM Spain), Guillermo Pfening (Foodie Love), Diego Garisa, Lucía Guerrero (Grupo 7), Carlos Soroa, Dariam Coco e Irene Dev among others, pick up their characters
Joaquín Górriz (Desaparecidos) y Guillermo López (Atrapada) write all the episodes on this second season, directed by Denis Rovira (La influencia) and Juanma Pachón (Heridas) and produced by Brutal Media.
Welcome to Eden is being filmed in different locations in Spain such as Lanzarote, Barcelona and Teruel.
About Netflix:
Netflix is the world’s leading streaming entertainment service with 222 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries, feature films and mobile games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.
About Brutal Media
Brutal Media is an innovative and creative producer of television and film content. Renowned for its production quality and daring storytelling from the emotions, it has created a unique way of telling stories. Her resume includes original formats, factual content, documentaries, TV series and feature films. Most recently, he has produced the original series Welcome to Eden (Netflix); the feature documentaries Murder by the Coast (Netflix) and The End of the Storm (Sky TV, Liverpool FC, Discovery, Rakuten); the series This is Football (Amazon Prime Video) and Las del Hockey (TV3, Netflix), as well as the feature filmsThe Barcelona Vampiress (winner of 5 Gaudí Awards, including “Best Film” and Audience Award at the Catalan Fantastic Film Festival – Sitges 2020 and at the Grimmfest in Manchester) and Te quiero, imbécil (TVE, Netflix, TV3). Its catalogue also includes original formats such as This is Opera (Beta Films, TVE) and This is Art (Movistar, TV3, TVE) broadcast in more than 70 territories, El Paisano (TVE, 4 seasons), El Foraster (TV3, 9 seasons), This is Philosophy (TVE), Òpera en texans (TV3) and TV fiction such as Laia (TV3), Felipe y Letizia (Mediaset), Tita Cervera (Mediaset) and Volveremos (TVE, TV3), among others. Brutal is currently preparing the development and production of factual content and fiction projects for several Spanish TV channels and international platforms.
Ever since 1983, when a test subject in a Hawkins, Indiana lab named Eleven ripped open a portal between Hawkins and the Upside Down (a terrifying alternate dimension beneath the surface of this small town), similar rifts have been opening up in the most unexpected places. Now, they’re officially in our world too.
A photo of the rift at Wawel Castle in Krakow, Poland.
Today, in celebration of the upcoming return of Stranger Things, rifts will start appearing on some of the most iconic monuments around the globe. As we recently hinted, the Upside Down will take over 14 countries through 15 landmarks including the Empire State Building in New York City; Bondi Beach in Australia; Duomo Square in Milan; Malecon Barranquilla in Colombia; the Gateway of India in Mumbai; Menara Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia; Al-‘Ula National Monument in Saudi Arabia; Cologne Media Park in Germany; XBox Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles; Wawel Castle in Krakow, Poland; Medborgarplatsen in Stockholm; and the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao; Telefónica building, Gran Vía 28, Madrid; and Plaza del Callao, Madrid in Spain. Other locations include Shoreditch, London and Tokyo, Japan.
A photo of the rift at Bondi Beach in Australia. Credit: Aquabumps
A visual spectacle and light show of unprecedented size and scale, fans everywhere will be able to witness in real time as giant rifts to the Upside Down open up around the world. Here are a few highlights of what to expect:
In NYC, as dusk approaches at 8:45pm ET on 26 May, a crack will start to grow on the southern facade of the Empire State Building as a massive rift opens, transporting onlookers into the Upside Down through an incredible visual spectacle. Local fans are also invited to watch in person – for a hint at the best vantage point, study up on your local coordinates (40.7411 N 73.9894 W). Eighties vibes will be in full gear, along with a lot more surprises.
In Milan, after the sun goes down at 9:45pm CET on 26 May in the iconic Duomo Square, a spectacular rift will open on the facade of the historic Palazzo Carminati, allowing fans to witness the Upside Down unfolding right before their eyes. The next morning, Duomo Square will transport visitors back to the 80s with throwback brand logos on display and multiple dedicated themed fan experiences.
At Australia’s iconic Bondi Beach at 5am AEST on 27 May, a mysterious and forbidding gateway to an alternate dimension will open up on the golden sands. The large gaping portal will appear overnight, complete with deep vines and a glowing red core. Scientists in hazmat will patrol the area while lifeguards will set up a safe perimeter around the scene.
A photo of the rift in Milan, Italy.
A photo of the rift at the Telefónica building in Madrid, Spain.
Eleven and her friends have captured imaginations from the very beginning and we love putting fans inside the story, taking them through the Upside Down and into an alternate reality. Whether it’s the Stranger Things Experience, or these larger-than-life rifts, we’re excited to open up the universe of the show for viewers around the globe.
A photo of the rift at the Gateway of India.
With the appearance of these rifts on landmarks in so many countries, we’re putting the world on notice: Things are about to turn upside down…
Issue 8 of Queue is kicking off summer with Squid Game stars Lee Jung-jae, Jung Ho-yeon, and Park Hae-soo on the cover. The actors were photographed by Ryan McGinley in verdant Hollywood Hills on a beautiful day in the California sun. Writer Elaine YJ Lee spoke with the cast and director Hwang Dong-hyuk, diving deeper into the biggest show of the year that no one can stop talking about.
The issue unpacks several of our most beloved series of this year. Natasha Lyonne strikes a pose with photographer Ramona Rosales and talks time travel in Russian Doll. Margaret Qualley discusses the realities of motherhood below the poverty line in MAID. Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin say farewell to their beloved Grace and Frankie after 94 episodes. And Bridgerton’s newest sister act, Simone Ashley and Charithra Chandran, shake up the ton.
On the documentary and unscripted front, Queue invited Matthew Trammell to go behind the camera with directors Coodie and Chike, the directors of jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy. We quench our need for speed with Formula 1: Drive to Survive producer Paul Martin, and celebrate one of our favorite Queer Eye heroes of the moment,Angel Flores. We find much to uncover about Andy Warhol in The Warhol Diaries, including an exclusive playlist from a Warhol “Superstar”, Viva.
We’re still not over that Ozark ending, so we went back to the beginning with Skylar Gaertner, who grew up on set as Jonah, the youngest of the Byrde family. We’ve also collected a selection of Ruth Langmore’s inventive insults to spice up your vocabulary. With the launch of another of our favorite dramas, we spoke exclusively to the Duffer Brothers to discuss the cinematic inspirations that laid the foundation for Stranger Things.
CBS’s FBI Season 4 finale will not air tonight as planned after an elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left 14 children and one teacher dead. The 18-year-old shooter is now also deceased, per the Associated Press.
The FBI finale, titled “Prodigal Son,” focuses on a school shooting and was taken off the CBS schedule for Tuesday, May 24 after the Uvalde shooting. The official episode description states, “As the team investigates a deadly robbery that garnered a cache of automatic weapons for the killers, they discover one of the perps is a classmate of Jubal’s son, who is reluctant to cooperate with the case.”
Instead, CBS will air the Feb. 1 episode of FBI, “Under Pressure,” which sees Maggie (Missy Peregrym) go undercover at a bar to investigate an anti-government group. The episode will be followed by the season finales of FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted, as planned.
CBS has not announced when it will reschedule the finale, but the series and its spin-offs have all been renewed for the 2022-23 TV season.
On Friday’s episode of MSNBC’s “All In,” host Chris Hayes had harsh words about the astonishing cowardice of police during the Uvalde, Texas school massacre, who he said no longer deserve the benefit of the doubt on anything they say.
He also pointed to the murders of the 19 children and 2 teachers in Uvalde — and the horrifying refusal of local police to stop it — as yet more proof that the pro-vigilante, pro-guns policies pushed by the NRA and allies in the Republican party, are “BS.”
“There is no reason to take anything anyone from law enforcement in the situation says a face value, full stop,” Hayes said during his remarks Friday. “So that’s what we have now, but it does seem confirmed, even as we likely more in the coming weeks, the worst possible set of facts appears to be the true one. That the police utterly failed, with their guns. The good guys with guns in the school utterly failed to protect those kids. They set up a cordon outside the school, and yelled at and threatened and prevented parents from rushing in, even it seems as the gunman was still inside.”
Hayes was of course talking about the almost impossible-to-believe details about the mass shooting that have come to light. Initially, law enforcement officials and the Governor of Texas spun stories of bravery and heroism, claiming they risked their lives to prevent more deaths and had behaved with honor. It turns out that those accounts were lies.
Worse, they appear to have later gathered outside of the classroom where the shooter was holed up, doing nothing. All the while, for almost an hour, children who hadn’t yet been killed by the gunman were desperately, and repeatedly, calling 911 begging for help. It’s almost certain now that their refusal to act likely increased the number of dead children — at least half of the class taken hostage by the shooter was still alive when 911 calls started. And these cops are still claiming they didn’t think it was an active shooter situation.
Hayes went on to argue that this horrific series of events also proves that the main rhetorical point people opposed to gun control make — that only “a good guy with a gun” can stop “a bad guy with a gun” — is false.
“In addition to the police response being an unfathomable failure, it is also just a profoundly upsetting demonstration of the bankruptcy of the arms race theory of violence prevention,” Hayes said before playing a clip of Wayne Lapierre, head of the National Rifle Association, making that argument.
“This decades-long project outlined by Lapierre, 10 years ago,” Hayes went on. ‘Just give everybody guns and arm and increasingly militarized police force, more and more money, more and more weapons, make sure they all have SWAT teams. They all need to have SWAT teams, because you never know.’ So, if one of the weapons ends up in the hands of a bad guy, we’re gonna have a parliamentary unit that is trained to go in there and stop them. It’s all BS!”
Watch the entire opening segment of “All In With Chris Hayes” at the top of the page now.
Nearly a half-century has passed since Elvis left the building, permanently.
Australian auteur Baz Luhrmann has just unleashed “Elvis,” his big, bold, nearly three-hour biopic, at Cannes and that Warner Bros. bet appears to have paid off. The film is starting its march toward theaters with an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score, though that ebullient aggregate assessment may mask some particularly resentful and dismissive reviews from a few of the world’s top critics. Soon, the world of Elvis acolytes, and mildly curious New Century film and music fans who know little beyond the name and thelamé, will have their say.
Whatever its artistic qualities or failings, “Elvis” is already providing a potent reminder of that edict from John Ford’s “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”: “Print the legend.” Ford’s Rule applies to both the biopic rhapsodizing of (as in “Bohemian”) — and the reviewing/reporting of — the depictions and lives of major historical figures, especially cultural legends like Presley.
Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson nicely articulates why Luhrmann’s “Elvis” may represent a particularly wasted opportunity for an important critical reassessment based upon a thorough historical review.
“Maybe the calculation was that everyone knows everything about Elvis already, which certainly might have been true 30 years ago,” Lawson writes in his review of the film. “Nowadays, however, his iconic status might need more arguing.”
But Baz Luhrmann is only half of the problem. The other half is the misreporting, faulty memories and/or haphazard research of the journalists and critics writing about “Elvis.”
Not to name and shame, but take a look at the words of some of the entertainment press’s finest critics.
“…Elvis remained a fixture of the International Hotel in Las Vegas from 1969 to 1976, performing show after sold-out show until just a year before his death,” reads one. “Keeping Presley tied to Vegas was just one of the many machinations of his ruthlessly exploitative manager…”
That doesn’t match this account of that period of Elvis’s career, courtesy of the easily researched Elvis History Blog.
“There was a dark side, though, to Elvis’s addiction to live audiences. In 1976, at the age of 41, he worked tirelessly on the road — 122 concerts in 74 cities.” Not exactly tied down to one. And then, “in the first six months of 1977, he kept up the tempo with 54 shows in 49 cities. That frenetic pace fueled his drug habit and certainly contributed to his early death.”
Since the movie appears to have followed the popular mythology of Presley’s longtime manager, Col. Tom Parker as half gargoyle, half Rasputin, all evil, it’s little surprise that the critical community feels sanctioned to dismiss Parker as “a self-serving con man who monopolized the star’s artistic and personal freedom,” as one top critic summarized.
No less an expert than acclaimed Elvis biographer Peter Guralnick applies nuance missing from most reviews:
“Presley’s ‘totemic belief in the Colonel’ was cemented while he was in the Army, when his greatest fear was that time and distance would crash his career and destroy his popularity. Parker, the canny manager-merchandiser, promised that wouldn’t happen and his tireless efforts to keep Presley’s name before the American public as both a box-office star and recording artist convinced the singer that they were an unbeatable team.”
Another critic exalts “Elvis” for its depiction of Elvis as Victim, “a portrait of a serious man trapped in an unserious life.”
Maybe.
Lost in the critical rush to crush the Colonel is something Waylon Jennings, in his autobiography “Waylon,” wrote about the Elvis he knew. As in actually knew.
“He had not progressed very much from when he was 18; he was still like a little boy, in so many ways. All he did was play, like a kid, and sing… A lot of people like to say he was secretly sad, but I don’t believe that. If anything, I don’t believe that he was deep enough inside. He was having fun until the last minute. He loved being Elvis, the mystique of bodyguards, and girls screaming, and being adored.”
If there’s any lesson in this year’s Baz-relief portrait of Tupelo’s Finest, and in the myriad murky historical revisitations to his legacy, it’s that major cultural figures can withstand everything time (and Sydney) throws at them.
And perhaps the misreadings and mangled historical accounts only add to our appreciation of Elvis as the malleable mystical musical hero who, like Krishna, takes on the qualities of a Supreme Personality.
In any event, Elvis is still worth knowing more about, especially the history as opposed to the hysteria, because his art is still worth listening to, and will be until the last Elvis impersonator hangs up his white sequined jumpsuit.
Latin American jazz fusion icon Carlos Santana will be the subject of an expansive documentary directed by Emmy winner Rudy Valdez.
Imagine Documentaries is collaborating on the project with Sony Music Entertainment, which is co-financing and handling distribution. It will follow Santana’s journey from a 14-year-old street musician to a 10-time Grammy-winning global sensation, and feature unseen archival footage and tracks.
Valdez is the director of Sundance’s U.S. documentary audience award winner “The Sentence,” about the corrosive effect of mandatory minimum sentencing on convicts and their families. That project went on to win an Emmy and was released by HBO.
Currently filming, the untitled Santana doc is produced by Sara Bernstein and Justin Wilkes for Imagine, with Lizz Morhaim (“Rebuilding Paradise”). Imagine co-founders and Oscar winners Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are executive producers.
“I am honored and grateful to have partnered with Imagine Documentaries and Sony Music to bring my story to light. Director Rudy Valdez, along with Ron, Brian, Justin and Sara have embraced this journey, which is one of triumph and adventurousness,” Santana told Variety. “The intentionality of this film is to touch people’s hearts and to inspire people to re-connect with their own light that they may ignite blessings and miracles.”
Leopoldo Gout (“Molly’s Game”), Ashley Kahn (“Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool”) and Sam Pollard (“MLK/FBI”) also serve as producers. Meredith Kaulfers is co-executive producer for Imagine and Michael Vrionis is also an EP. Tom Mackay and Richard Story are executive producing on behalf of Sony Music Entertainment.
“We’re thrilled that Carlos has entrusted us with bringing his incredibly inspirational story to life in this film,” said Wilkes. “He is one of the greatest musicians of all time, and throughout his career, Santana has unapologetically broken down borders and reinvented a tone universally celebrated across the globe. Collaborating with Rudy Valdez again is an honor and we are excited for him to take us on a journey with Santana.”
“Carlos Santana’s pioneering vision and artistry have influenced generations of fans across so many genres of music,” said Mackay. “Through this new project in partnership with Imagine Entertainment, we look forward to showcasing the breadth and lasting impact of his story for audiences globally.”
Santana is credited with blending genres to barrier-breaking effect. In addition to 10 Grammys, he is a three-time Latin Grammy Award winer, an inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a recipient of the Billboard Century Award and a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors. Santana is listed at No. 15 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and has joined the Rolling Stones as one of only two bands to have an album reach the Top 10 in every decade since the 1960s. His most recent album, “Blessings and Miracles,” features collaborations with Rob Thomas, Chris Stapleton, Steve Winwood and others.
Brian Knappenberger explores technology and crime in “Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet,” a six-part anthology docuseries from Imagine that will debut on Netflix June 15.
Episodes include “Death by SWAT” about the consequences of “swatting” – a harassment technique that involves a person making a false report to emergency police against an innocent target – and “A Murder in D.C,” about the conspiracies around the 2016 murder of Seth Rich, the slain Democratic National Committee staffer whose death was used by right-wing activists to help exonerate Russia’s interference in the 2016 Presidential Election.
“‘Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet’ is a collection of stories gathered over years of making films about the world of technology,” says Knappenberger. “I’ve always been interested in how technology changes the lives of everyday people, and in how our perceptions and brains are changed. The big questions hang over all of these stories, but the main focus is on the lives and events of people caught in this web. It is not all bad — new possibilities emerge along with dangers — but the stories take surprising turns since the truths we tell ourselves are often not real.
The docuseries, which was also produced by Luminant Media, features three separate stories of people caught in a dark and twisted web of modern misinformation and digital deception. “I’m Not a Nazi” revolves around a woman who recounts her journey to becoming a mouthpiece for white nationalist hate speech. Her work culminates in high-profile violence and murder. “Sextortion,” meanwhile, features several women recalling their harrowing experiences with one man’s heinous attempts at virtual blackmail, aimed at obtaining sensitive sexual material. “The Stingray” is a two-part episode about a skilled hacking duo who revisit the cyber schemes that landed them in the sights of law enforcement.
“To voyage bodilessly in the virtual world doesn’t mean we are separated from real world consequences,” says Knappenberger. “Our lives still play out in the physical world even if our minds are mired in misinformation. With the Buffalo shooter spouting racist “replacement” ideology and the effects of disinformation on democracy made clear with a stark information war alongside the bombs in Ukraine, how does this web of misinformation reverberate through our modern life?”
“Web of Make Believe” marks Knappenberger’s first collaboration with Imagine Documentaries — the nonfiction division of Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment — and his fifth Netflix project, including “Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” and “Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror.”
Says Sara Bernstein, executive producer, Imagine Documentaries: “There is no better platform and audience than Netflix for ‘Web of Make Believe,’ and no better partner than Brian Knappenberger to guide viewers down this dangerous and complex rabbit hole, as he is a visionary and authority on investigating the intersection of online personas and reality.”
Three years ago, Franklin (a member of the executives branch), Garcia (directors branch) and Yang (producers branch) were appointed by then-president John Bailey to succeed the original trio — Reginald Hudlin, Gregory Nava and Jennifer Yuh Nelson — in roles which were created in the aftermath of the Oscars So White uproar, with a mandate to advocate for inclusion.
“The level of commitment DeVon, Rodrigo and Janet have shown to the Academy, its members and our ongoing investment in representation, inclusion and equity is immeasurable,” Rubin said in a statement “They are highly valued leaders, and we as a board are pleased to provide this opportunity for them to continue their great work.”
Rumor has it that Yang may be a candidate to succeed Rubin as president when his term expires over the summer; all officers, including the president, are filled by members of the board, which will be newly constituted following June elections to fill one of the three governors seats for each of the Academy’s 17 branches.
As with governors representing the Academy’s 17 branches, governors-at-large may serve up to two three-year terms (consecutive or non-consecutive), followed by a two-year hiatus, after which eligibility renews for up to two additional three-year terms, for a lifetime maximum of 12 years.
A Japanese man says he has fulfilled his life-long ambition of becoming a four-legged animal after spending two-million Yen (£12,500) on a dog costume.
The man, who goes by the name of Toko-san, commissioned an agency called Zeppetwho spent 40 days making the bespoke Collie outfit.
Posting photos of himself in the costume, Toko-san, said: ‘I made it a Collie because it looks real when I put it on.
‘I thought that a big animal close to my size would be good – considering that it would be a realistic model, so I decided to make it a dog.’
Debuting his costume on Youtube, Toko-san shares his unique journey living as a dog to over 1000 subscribers. Since starting his Youtube channel in April, his videos have over 600k views
The video posted on Twitter received over 50,000 likes with thousands of retweets of divided opinions on San’s alternative lifestyle.
He went viral in Japan and featured in local news and television where San can be seen rolling on his back and trying on the suit for the first time
A bizarre video clip of Toko-san dressed in the Collie costume emerged on YouTube in early April, which shows him standing on all fours in front of a camera with jaunty piano music playing in the background.
As the music plays, he lifts his right paw twice in an apparent greeting before raising his left paw.
The Lassie look-a-like is then seen rolling on the floor and waving his legs and paws in the air.
But while some have praised the life-like outfit as ‘awesome’ others have said it looks unnatural, with one viewer commenting: ‘No matter how much money you spent, you won’t be a real dog.’
Zeppet went through various rounds of revisions, with San being involved in every stage of the production process. San said he was happy with the company being able to deal with his difficult requests
A Zeppet employee commented on how creating the life-like animal was difficult due to the amount of detail needed in creating a dog suit to fit the human body
The suit was made by Japanese company, Zeppet which provide costumes and figures for TV commercials and films.
A spokesman for Zeppet said, ‘Modelled after a collie dog, it reproduces the appearance of a real dog walking on four legs.’
Posting a video on Twitter of himself inside the dog costume and rolling on the floor, Toko-san wrote: ‘I ordered a costume! Thanks to you, I was able to fulfill my dream of becoming an animal!’
San suggested using a Collie as he says ‘long-haired dogs can mislead the human figure’
Zeppet told local media that they enhanced the ‘fluffiness’ of the coat to hide the shell of the dog and made the mouth open and close by itself
He added: ‘There are restrictions, but you can move in it. However, if you move too much, it will not look like a dog.’
The post, which now has over 50,000 likes, has divided the internet.
Writing on Toko-san’s YouTube page, one viewer said: ‘Being freak, god level! Well done!’
Another wrote: ‘You spent money on that? Lol well at least it’s realistic to a degree.’
But others praised his bravery and courage to follow a life-long dream.
One commented: ‘I think it’s awesome that you are a Border collie never change unless you want to.’
Travis Barkerand Kourtney Kardashianare keeping their Italian love alive! The newlyweds were spotted out in Milan recently, touring the city following their gorgeous Portofino nuptials. The couple wore their signature dark colors for the outing, with Travis rocking a black t-shirt with “ANTI-WAR CRASS” white writing on the front and jeans while Kourt wore a frilly, black off-the-shoulder, long-sleeve crop top and high-waisted black trousers. “Kravis,” as they’re called, both sported chic, rectangular black sunglasses to complete their looks.
The couple was also spotted with Travis’ kids, Alabama Barker, 16, and Landon Barker, 18, who walked along the Italian city with their dad and newfound stepmom. Alabama walked next to Kourtney in an equally Eurpoean-esque look, rocking a mid-length black leather coat over a black-and-white-striped two piece or jumpsuit. The teen wore her bright blonde locks long and kept it cool behind dark black sunglasses.
Travis Barker, Kourtney Kardashian & kids out in Milan ( Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto/Shutterstock).
The appearance comes after Kourtney added Barker to her name on her Instagram account. “Kourtney will always be known as Kourtney Kardashian, but she decided to use Kardashian Barker” after she tied the knot, a source close to her told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY on May 23.
“She really feels that it is meaningful to Travis and herself. Her family was advising against [her changing her last name to just Barker] because she has so many ties to Kardashian,” they continued. “They suggested that she combine their last names, like what Kim did when she married Kanye [West], so that is ultimately what she decided to do.”
Kourtney and Travis’ third wedding (following a “practice” in Las Vegas on April 4 and a courthouse ceremony in Santa Barbara) proved to be as high profile as it was highly anticipated. The massive family event, which included the Kardashian and Barker families as well as celebrities includingMegan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly, will be included in Hulu series The Kardashians. The affair was definitely the opposite of their Santa Barbara ceremony, which Kourtney apparently kept very intimate on purpose, invitingonly her grandmother Mary Jo “MJ” Campbell from her side of the family.
Before two 18-year old gunmen collectively killed 31 people in separate shootings over the last two weeks, they turned to a variety of social media apps to share troubling private messages.
Both the Uvalde, Texas, shooter and the one in Buffalo, used a combination of disappearing video-app Snapchat, Instagram direct messages, chat-app Discord and social-app Yubo to meet people and share their violent plans with acquaintances. In the case of the Buffalo shooting, the gunman also used video streaming platform Twitch to publicize his deadly attack.
These apps — many of which have been adopted by Gen Z as teens and young people seek out more private corners of the Internet — are ill-equipped to police such content. They are fundamentally designed to keep communications private, presenting different challenges than Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, where violent screeds and videos have been algorithmically amplified to millions of viewers.
The way that the generation uses social media more generally could render years of work to spot and identify public signs of upcoming violence obsolete, social media experts warn.
“There is this shift toward more private spaces, more ephemeral content,” said Evelyn Douek, a senior research fellow at Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. “The content moderation tools that platforms have been building and that we’ve been arguing about are kind of dated or talking about the last war.”
Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that the Texas gunman, who authorities have identified as Salvador Rolando Ramos, 18, wrote on social media that “I’m going to shoot my grandmother” and “I’m going to shoot an elementary school” shortly before the attack.” Facebook confirmed that the messages were sent privately but declined to say which of its social networks were used.
Stephen Garcia, who considered himself Ramos’s best friend in eighth grade, previously told The Washington Post that Ramos used the Yubo app, a platform where users can swipe on each other’s profile, Tinder-style, or hang out in live-streaming rooms and virtually “meet” other users by playing games and chatting.
Yubo spokeswoman Amy Williams said in an email that the company is not able to release information outside of direct requests from law enforcement, but that the company is investigating an account that has been banned from its platform.
“We are deeply saddened by this unspeakable loss and are fully cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation,” she said.
In the case of Buffalo shooting, the alleged gunman Payton Gendron sent an invitation to an online chatroom on the instant messaging platform Discord that was accepted by 15 users, which allowed them to scroll back through months of Gendron’s voluminous writings and racist screeds, The Post has reported. Users who clicked through to the room also could view an online video stream, where footage of the Buffalo attack was broadcast. That attack was also broadcast on Twitch, a live-streaming service popular among video game users.
Discord and Twitch did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Twitch was able to remove the stream within two minutes after the gunman began shooting, Angela Hession, the company’s head of trust and safety, said previously. The site has an all-hours escalation system in place to address urgent reports, such as live-streamed violence.
Discord has since said the messages were visible only to the suspect until he shared them with others the day of the attack.
In the wake of high-profile mass shootings in recent years, communities, school districts and tech companies made major investments in safety systems aimed to root out violent screeds in the hopes of preventing an attack before it happens. The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District has previously used an artificial intelligence-backed program to scan social media posts for potential threats years before the attack, although it’s unclear whether it was in use at the time of the shooting.
But these tools are ill-equipped to address the surging popularity of live video streaming and private or disappearing messaging, which are increasingly used by young adults and teens. Those messages are then closed off to outsiders, who might be able to spot the warning signs that a troubled individual might be about to inflict harm on themselves and others.
These newer social networks also have far less history dealing with violent content, and they’re less likely to have policies and personnel in place to respond to the incitement of violence on their services, experts said.
“For smaller sites or newer sites, they’re having the moments that bigger services like Facebook and YouTube were having in 2015 and 2016,” said Emma Llansó, the director of the free expression project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit backed by major tech companies.
The shooters’ adoption of these upstart apps reflects a larger generational shift among social media use. Gen Z, teens and young adults born after 1996, have been flocking to apps that emphasize private messaging, live-streaming or allow their users to post content that disappears from public profiles after a certain amount of time.
They have largely shunned legacy social media apps such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, that rose to popularity by providing public and open spaces to communicate with the world.
The new apps’ role in the shootings have caught the attention of the New York and New Jersey state attorneys general, who in the wake of the Buffalo shootinglaunched probes into Discord and Twitch.
“Time and time again, we have seen the real-world devastation that is borne of these dangerous and hateful platforms,” New York attorney general Letitia James (D) said in a statement announcing the probe after the Buffalo shooting. “We are doing everything in our power to shine a spotlight on this alarming behavior and take action to ensure it never happens again.”
Social media has played a prominent role in many mass shootings, and there have been high-profile instances where gunmen have posted about their plans online in plain sight and have not been caught.
Tech giants have also been caught up in a years-long power struggle as they seek to balance privacy with policing content on their sites and demands from law enforcement agencies.
Facebook and other companies have moved toward strong encryption, technology that scrambles the contents of a message so that only the sender and receiver can see it. WhatsApp and Apple iMessage use it, as well as messaging apps like Signal. And Facebook has said it wants to introduce encrypted messaging as a default setting to Instagram and Facebook Messenger, prompting backlash from politicians and officials in law enforcement have warned that the broad adoption of this technology can leave them in the dark and made it more difficult for them to investigate violence.
Some major tech companies do scan messages for harmful content, such as child sexual abuse or spam. But experts warn that monitoring more private communication spaces is a delicate balance.
“There are so many incredibly legitimate reasons people want to use private communications,” Llansó said. “That is not something that should be sacrificed for all people because some people want to use private communications for atrocious reasons.”
Social media users tend to skew younger, but the generational gaps among the user base among private messaging apps like Snapchat are larger than they are for more traditional public-facing sites like Facebook.
When Snapchat users send private messages to each other they disappear after the recipient has read them. The app also pioneered the concept of “stories” — public posts that last for just one day — which was later copied by Facebook.
Snap said Wednesday that it has suspended an account that may have been connected to Ramos and that it is also working with law enforcement.
Meanwhile, Facebook has struggled to keep pace with the rapidly evolving social habits of teen users.
Facebook’s own internal research reports that young adults are “less engaged” than older adults, posing a significant risk to the company’s business, according to a trove of internal company documents known as the Facebook Files. The company’s research found that young adults prefer sharing updates about their life over text messages, rather than broadcasting to a broad range of Facebook friends. The researchers suggested that the company respond by leaning into groups and more private forms of sharing.
“It’s always going to be a cat and mouse game,” Douek said. “These are just sort of intractable problems. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t improve or we should let platforms off the hook.”
Lukas Dhont graduates to the main Competition today at Cannes as his new movie Close premieres. It’s the highly anticipated second feature from the Belgian helmer after his debut, Girl, premiered here in Un Certain Regard. And as Dhont readies for the festival’s biggest stage, his two young leads, newcomers Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele, are adjusting to their new lives as movie stars. That included a stop by Deadline’s Cannes studio, where they gave their first-ever interviews.
Dhont said that Close was based on research he read about how the intimate friendships between boys change as they age. Younger boys interviewed, he said, “all talked about their friends like they were the most important people in their lives. The people that they loved, and that they shared secrets with. The people they deeply cared for.”
When the same boys were interviewed towards the end of their teen years, “They started to act a little bit more cool when they spoke about connection, out of this fear of being seen as feminine or gay. It moved me deeply because I was this young kid that had a feeling that he didn’t really belong to the group of girls, nor the group of boys. I felt, as a child and a teenager, this loneliness. The friends that tried to get close to me, I didn’t really allow them to because I was also afraid of these labels.”
As Dambrine explained, the film follows two 13-year-olds, Leo and Remi, as they enter high school and the nature of their close friendship is questioned by the “cool kids” around them. “The friendship between Leo and Remi is one that has been there forever,” Dambrine noted. “They grew up in the same place and they go to school together, and they’re always together. When they go to high school for the first time, something happens that causes a rift between them. There’s a group of boys that Leo wants to hang out with. He wants to be with the cool kids. Unfortunately, it means Leo leaves Remi on the sidelines.”
Dhont auditioned many boys for the roles, but settled on Dambrine and De Waele when he noted how well they connected on the day of their audition. “Gustav and I didn’t know each other at all,” Dambrine said. “When I did the first casting for the role of Leo, there were 13 other boys. As soon as I saw Gustav, I realized there was something special. He wasn’t like the other boys. So, we started talking and we had a lot of fun together.”
Added De Waele: “It was also that we had done a scene together during casting in which I had to show a lot of emotion. I felt right away that it was Eden who was going to help me with that.”
See more from Lukas Dhont, Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele in the video above.
The Fox animated sitcom “Bob’s Burgers” concluded its 12th season on Sunday, but fans, fear not: “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” debuts on Friday.
Created by Loren Bouchard, “Bob’s Burgers” centers on the Belcher family, led by Bob (H. Jon Benjamin) and his wife, Linda (John Roberts), who with help from their three children run a struggling restaurant in an unnamed city. Much like “The Simpsons,” “Bob’s” offers a wry twist on the live-action family sitcom, and it has expanded over the years to form a rich world of colorful guest characters that feels specific, lived-in and real.
With more than 200 episodes, picking favorites isn’t easy. Fans will tell you that the writers excel at holiday-themed episodes, and the occasional A-list guest star can produce comedy gold. But the key to understanding the success of “Bob’s Burgers” is in the Belchers themselves: They push one another’s buttons in ways that only families can, but they are also one another’s most reliable support system.
Through all of the chaos of recent years, there’s been something comforting about knowing that the Belcher clan is keeping its head above water. Here are 10 must-watch episodes for getting to know them before the movie’s premiere. (All 12 seasons are on Hulu.)
‘Bob Day Afternoon’ (Season 2, Episode 2)
The first season of “Bob’s Burgers” felt like a writing staff trying to find its sense of humor. This is the show’s first great episode, a chapter that finds Bob embroiled in a bank robbery undertaken by a hapless criminal named Mickey (Bill Hader). The Belchers will try to turn anything into publicity, which is what happens when Bob realizes that the hostage-taking criminal wants burgers from his restaurant. It’s also an early example of how often “Bob’s” storytelling hinges on miscommunications that lead to a Belcher’s being thrust into the role of an ordinary hero in an extraordinary situation.
There are several strong holiday-themed episodes that could make the list, but this Thanksgiving episode tops them all. It’s a formative chapter for the playfully manipulative Calvin Fischoeder (Kevin Kline), the Belchers’ landlord, who offers the family free rent for five months if they pretend to be his family for the holiday. Class issues often elevate the best episodes of “Bob’s”; this one demonstrates both how much the Belchers could use the free rent and their unwillingness to sacrifice family unity to get it. It also features “The Thanksgiving Song,” one of the greatest songs from a show known for its clever music. It was even covered by the rock band The National.
‘Broadcast Wagstaff School News’ (Season 3, Episode 12)
By this point, the writers knew what made the Belchers funny, producing several fantastic chapters in the first half of the third season. This one rises above many strong contenders from this period by highlighting the Belcher children and the array of personalities at their school, Wagstaff, which is under the threat of a serial defecator known as the “Mad Pooper.” It also really allows the awkward eldest child, Tina (Dan Mintz), a chance to shine when her superiors at the school news station try to bury the story, forcing her to skirt journalistic ethics to break it. It’s a perfect example of how the writing on this show can use juvenile premises to craft smart comedy.
‘O.T.: The Outside Toilet’ (Season 3, Episode 15)
Again, the writers on “Bob’s Burgers” find a way to elevate toilet humor, this time with a literal commode. The best episodes of this show often blend the odd with the heartfelt, such as in this tale, in which the creative middle child, Gene (Eugene Mirman), finds a talking toilet (Jon Hamm) in the woods and makes it his best friend. At the same time, Bob and Linda end up at a restaurant at which Bob keeps being sent free drinks just because he looks sharp enough in his suit to deserve them. A truly strange episode, it’s a great showcase for Gene’s sense of humor, tying together the impossible tale of a boy and his new best friend with a memorable night on the town for his parents.
‘Christmas in the Car’ (Season 4, Episode 8)
A list like this wouldn’t be complete without a Christmas episode, and this is just barely the best, a quirky blend of classic family sitcom holiday conventions with the structure of a thriller. Bob and his family need a new tree on Christmas Eve, forcing them to drive to the only occupied lot, an hour away. When they leave, they’re almost hit by a semi made up to look like a candy cane, and the truck hunts them down. Linda still finds a way to get a local delicacy called a “Dutch baby” on the way home, while the kids try to catch Santa Claus but end up netting only Bob’s best customer, the very funny Teddy (Larry Murphy).
‘Word Hard or Die Trying, Girl’ (Season 5, Episode 1)
Consistently creative at this point in its run, “Bob’s Burgers” opened its fifth season in 2014 with one of its most inspired pop culture mash-ups. Gene has been planning a musical version of “Die Hard” to premiere at Wagstaff when his ex-girlfriend Courtney (David Wain) upstages him with her musical version of “Working Girl,” the “sassy sister film to ‘Die Hard.’” As Gene fights back with his own “protest production,” the writers unleash some of the best original music in the show’s history, capping it off with a Carly Simon cameo. The most memorable episodes of “Bob’s Burgers” often have a “let’s put on a show” creative spirit, and this best captures that passion.
‘Hawk & Chick’ (Season 5, Episode 20)
The fifth season of “Bob’s Burgers” ended with a one-two punch of brilliance, starting with a tale that blended the creative passion of the Belchers with a moving examination of the love between Bob and his precocious youngest daughter, Louise (Kristen Schaal). They are startled to find a once-famous Japanese actor named Kojima at their farmer’s market because he and his daughter, Yuki, were the stars of Bob and Louise’s favorite classic samurai franchise, “Hawk & Chick.” When they discover that Koji and Yuki are estranged, they mount a special screening to reunite them, but missing subtitles force the Belchers to dub the film live. Hysterically funny, the episode also taps an emotional vein when Louise reveals how worried she is that she, too, could one day drift away from her father.
‘The Oeder Games’ (Season 5, Episode 21)
The writers of “Bob’s Burgers” often subtly allow the Belchers’ shaky economic status to influence their plotting, but it takes center stage in this brilliant season finale. When all of Mr. Fischoeder’s tenants arrive at his estate for a strike over a rent increase, the landlord turns the tables on them, offering a water balloon fight wherein the winner will have his or her rent cut in half. Despite Bob’s protests, everyone grabs a balloon, and Fischoeder’s plan to turn allies against one another seems to work. However, the battle royale doesn’t unfold the way he expects, ending one of the show’s best seasons with an examination of both the Belcher family’s unity and their impact on friends and neighbors.
‘The Hauntening’ (Season 6, Episode 3)
Halloween episodes of “Bob’s Burgers” are like playgrounds for the dark comedic sensibilities of the writing staff. In this episode, they play with some vicious imagery while ultimately emphasizing the connectedness of the Belcher clan. Bob and Linda plan to scare their children at a haunted house, especially Louise, who claims she is never actually frightened. As their scheme gets more and more intense, Louise eventually gives in to her fear, allowing her facade of the fearless child to fall away. It plays cleverly on what fans know and love about these characters, filtering it through the conventions of a traditional holiday sitcom episode and adding a “Bob’s” twist.
‘Glued: Where’s My Bob?’ (Season 6, Episode 19)
The 100th episode of “Bob’s Burgers” blends perfectly the show’s goofy sense of humor, its big heart and its recurring theme that teamwork can save the day. The celebrity chef Skip Marooch (Kumail Nanjiani) calls Bob with the news that he has landed his favorite burger man a profile in Coasters magazine, but the interview is derailed when a prank war among the Belcher children leads to Bob’s being literally glued to the toilet. As a crowd gathers outside to mock the local restaurateur, nearly everyone in the Belchers’ circle of friends shows up to try to save the day, leading to a surprisingly touching finale to another great season.
“This is a character that means so much to me,” said Christensen, who starred in the prequel “Star Wars” films that set the stage for the Disney+ series.
Upcoming Disney+ series “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” debuting May 27, marks both McGregor and Christensen’s respective returns to the “Star Wars” franchise after the prequel trilogy. Set 10 years after the events of “Revenge of the Sith,” the series picks up with Obi-Wan (McGregor) hiding from the Dark Lord (Christensen) in Tatooine and observing a young Luke Skywalker who is the key to saving the galaxy.
Christensen said during a Disney+ press conference that his “imagination started to run wild” at the prospect of donning the Darth Vader suit once again.
“Then I got the call saying that Deborah Chow wanted to get together and talk about this ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ show that she’s doing with Ewan. I was just thrilled,” Christensen said. “This is a character that means so much to me, and to get to come back and do more with it was just a thrilling opportunity.”
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Christensen continued that it was a “very emotional experience” filming “Obi-Wan Kenobi” after Anakin turned to the dark side. The actor also binged all of the modern “Star Wars” canon including animated series “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels” to prepare for the role.
“Obviously, it brought up a lot of feelings of nostalgia but it was also very cathartic in a way too, just because this is a character that means so much to me and has really sort of stayed with me over the years,” Christensen said.
Director Chow agreed, adding, “He’s been living with this character for a very long time, so he brings a tremendous amount to it. It just felt very organic and it felt like we really needed Hayden back in this story, particularly in relation to Obi-Wan.”
Chow previously revealed that “Obi-Wan Kenobi” will focus on the “love story” between the two opposing forces represented by Obi-Wan and Vader, likening the darker storyline to franchise IP character studies like “Logan” and “Joker” while honoring the legacy of the original prequel trilogy.
“One of the things I was trying to do with this series was to have the legacy, and who is important in Obi-Wan’s life, and to also have some new characters,” Chow said. “So it’s going to be a mixture of the two. But I do think there are some surprises to come, I hope.”
Netflix has renewed the mother-daughter comedy Ginny and Georgia for a second season.
“We are so appreciative of the incredible response and love you all have shown Ginny & Georgia,” showrunner Debra J. Fisher and creator/EP Sarah Lampert said in a statement. “We’re especially grateful to Brianne and Toni, who set the highest bar every step of the way. We can’t wait to return to Wellsbury for Season 2.”
Ginny and Georgia has performed well since it launched on February. In fact, Netflix revealed that the first season was watched by 52M subscribers in its first 28 days with particularly strong performance in the U.S., Australia, Brazil and Kenya.
The show stars Brianne Howey (Georgia), Antonia Gentry (Ginny), Diesel La Torraca (Austin), Jennifer Robertson (Ellen), Felix Mallard (Marcus), Sara Waisglass (Maxine), Scott Porter (Mayor Paul Randolph) and Raymond Ablack (Joe).
Are you as excited as I am that Ginny and Georgia was renewed for a second season? Let me know in the comments below!
Attention all bbq lovers! Top Chef fan favorite Dale Talde is back with Season 2 of his hit Tastemade series, All Up In My Grill, just in time for the beginning of summer. Talde likes to tell his audiences, “A grill isn’t just a grill, it’s an also an outdoor kitchen,” and he’s not kidding! Season 1 saw the chef making everything from pizza to fried rice to French fries to even brunch favorites at his trusty outside cooking station using tasty and accessible recipes that any foodie can master. Talde goes back to basics in the Season 2 premiere with a burger blowout, featuring a classic ten-ounce beef burger, a loaded shrimp burger and delectable lamb sliders. With Memorial Day right around the corner, All Up In My Grill Season 2 is the perfect show to fire up when planning your menu.
EXCLUSIVE:Charles Finch (Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love) is as English as they come, but Hollywood runs through his veins. Having written movies, produced a few, directed three; managed movie stars and built brands, and published high-end cultural magazines, he decided “smack in the middle of Covid, in my late fifties,” that he wanted to go back to making movies.
He has set up a small film company that he calls STANDALONE. Finch has a relationship with Columbia Pictures and he’ll formally announce a development deal with that studio next month. The entrepreneur also has a project with Netflix.
Finch told us that he has a slate of some 15 to 20 projects. Included in his group of filmmaking collaborators are directors Josie Rourke (Mary Queen of Scots), Tom Hooper (Les Miserables), Marina Zenovich (Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind), Simon Curtis (Downton Abbey: A New Era), and Florian Zeller (The Father).
Finch described himself as a “really old-fashioned impresario, quite good at spotting talent,” and he wants to use that insight to get films made. His view is that studios made a mistake in cutting back on producer deals. “I think it’s a mistake because you under-power the studio, then the director is the producer, the actor is the producer… well how do you get anybody to actually do the work?
“The actor can only do a limited number of movies they’re developing, the director can only do one movie every two years, so you don’t really have a pipeline to fill your studio,” he argued.
Baz Bamigboye/Deadline
Finch’s father, the Academy Award-winning actor Peter Finch (Network) was at Columbia, that’s why it’s an important relationship for him. “I have a real passion for that studio,” he told Deadline, just as passionately, over a breakfast of fresh smoked salmon, at the ultra swanky Hotel du Cap in Antibes, where he likes to take his meals during the Cannes Film Festival.
It’s a fun, iconic spot to hang out at, but it’s also very much a working environment for the stylish 59-year-old. As well as taking meetings there, for the past dozen years or so, he’s hosted his Annual Filmmakers Dinner in the Hotel du Cap’s seafront Eden Roc restaurant. An exception is being made this year though because the bash, usually on the first Saturday of the festival, has shifted to this evening, Wednesday.
So, a smaller, more intimate soirée will take place tonight at the Villa Doran in Antibes, where close friends Jean Pigozzi and Dr. Barbara Sturm will support Finch in lauding filmmakers. They will also celebrate the launch of the inaugural issue of his new publication A Rabbit’s Foot; so-called because Ernest Hemingway “used to carry a rabbit’s foot in his pocket for his anxiety,” Finch explained.
The elegant Cannes edition of A Rabbit’s Foot features on its front cover a black and white photograph, by Brigitte Lacombe, of Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless) at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival. Finch calls A Rabbit’s Foot a “bookazine’ and it’s beautifully curated by him featuring the lights of French cinema. He aims to publish a print edition three times a year “for as long as I can fund it.” A Rabbit’s Foot will also have an online presence where it’ll be updated twice a month.
Next year the Annual Filmmakers Dinner will move back to Eden Roc on the first Saturday of the film festival with long-term partner Chanel as sponsors.
The famed Parisian house sponsors his kill-to-get-an-invite dinners held on the eve of the BAFTAs in London and the Oscars in Hollywood. Both are lavish occasions with a crush of stars swirled together. In London, the venue is the Georgian townhouse 5 Hertford Street, a private members club in Mayfair. In LA, Oscar nominees, artists, and models—in short, the smart set—flock to the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Finch joked that the dinners “are like an albatross around my neck, ” but he adores throwing them.
The whole thing started, he told Deadline, when he was “really broke, again” and his friend restaurateur Michael Chow, of Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills, asked, straight out, “How broke are you?”
“I said, ‘I’m fucking broke.’ He said, ‘Eat at the restaurant whenever you want. I’ll pay for you on the condition that you have a good time, don’t eat too much, and don’t have too many people.’”
Finch took Mr. Chow up on his generous offer. After a few months, Finch asked Chow if he could have a party in the restaurant the night before the Oscars. Chow cautioned that the Academy would not allow that to happen because they want all the movie stars to go to bed early!
”I said, ‘Listen, I’m 25 years old. The Academy doesn’t even know I exist, what the fuck do they care?’ Chow said, ‘How many people?’
“Everybody was there; Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, all the beautiful girls, the great actresses… There were 140 people in a restaurant that only could have 60 people. The party started at eight o’clock in the evening and we were still there like at four in the morning and it was fantastic,“ Finch recalled with evident glee.
Baz Bamigboye/Deadline
Michael Chow though was completely livid. ”All the food and the booze!”
But he kept having those dinners, and he’s still having those dinners, just at a different address.
Later, he got a job at the William Morris Agency in London and soon enough a BAFTAs bash was launched. ”For years and years I paid for it and one day Chanel rang me up and they’ve been sponsoring us ever since.”
Finch is adamant though that both the Academy and BAFTA must up their game. ”We’ve made all the political points that need to be made. Let’s have less movie selection, and bring it back to the five best pictures. Let’s get focused on something that is classy. There’s a sort of glamour to being formal because if you disrupt the formality of these things you undervalue the award.”
This year’s Oscar ceremony, he said, was “an embarrassing disaster.”
He jabbed a finger. ”Why do you need to be making jokes all the time? Have one host who does it correctly and who gives these people some acclaim for the movies that they’ve put their heart and soul into. That goes for BAFTA, too!”
Why would anyone bother attending the BAFTAs, he stormed. “What the fuck is going on? It doesn’t have to be a reflection of the turmoil of society. It should be a reflection of the best of society, that’s very different.”
Turns out he wasn’t quite done with whacking the Academy. “This is a night we want to see the best in you…not having you commenting on other people, on how they look and behave and making silly jokes. It’s not a laugh-in moment. This roasting of people is insulting,” he said referring not just to the Chris Rock –Will Smith incident, but the sense that hosts and presenters have got to insult and abuse to get a laugh. “Ricky Gervais shouldn’t be hosting awards. He’s a brilliant comic but he doesn’t need that kind of exposure, ” he told Deadline.
”Obviously what happened with Will Smith was terrible and uncalled for and he must have been going through something that we don’t know about. But he should have been asked to leave straight away, that’s it.”
And then to parade around the Vanity Fair Party “was a disgraceful moment,” said Finch.
People can laugh and have fun, Finch said. “But there’s a classy way of doing it.”
As for Moore, she agrees that the final train scene was beautiful. “Poor Milo had to keep flipping my pillow around because the shot was so close [to my face] that my tears were dropping on the pillowcase and leaving tear marks,” she says. “In between shots, he kept a little wad of tissues for me to mop up my tears and then help me flip around my pillow and reposition my head. He’s the best partner ever. It was beautiful, and it was the end, and we both knew that. It’s always been so easy with him, and this was no exception. We were like, let’s just be present and be in the moment. It was everything.”
Milo Ventimiglia as Jack and Mandy Moore as Rebecca in the final episode of This Is Us.
NBC/Ron Batzdorff
Did Rebecca die in the penultimate episode, or was it actually the finale?
Viewers didn’t see Rebecca take her last breath in episode 617 (titled “The Train”), but basically the implication was that when she squeezed Jack’s hand, which was also Randall’s hand, that’s when she passed on. “For me, it felt like ‘The Train’ episode,” Moore says. “But obviously, Rebecca says in the finale episode, ‘I’m scared, I’m not ready,’ so I feel like that last step of truly making that transition happens during this [finale] episode.”
By the time the finale episode begins, Rebecca has already passed and the family is getting ready for the funeral. But the last two episodes are really more like one big episode told over two weeks, so really, neither answer is wrong.
What was it like for Chrissy Metz and Chris Sullivan to have one last “Katoby” scene?
For fans who still refuse to accept that “Katoby” didn’t make it in the long run, the final scene between Kate and Toby on the day of Rebecca’s funeral was hopefully of some comfort. “It was more emotional than I thought it was going to be,” Metz says of the sentimental exchange. “It really was the last scene with Chris and I, so it was so beautiful and poignant. Also, you’re saying goodbye to somebody that you love as an actor and a friend. It was a lot.”
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