Your weekly horoscope is here. This week sets off at a cracking pace like a racehorse straight out of the gate, so grab the reigns and jump ahead on plans, a project or just enjoy the energized atmosphere. Get social and set intentions together for expanding your horizons as Tuesday’s dark phase moon begins a new Luna cycle. Mercury heads back into its final retrograde on Wednesday so think twice before delivering that critique, D.M., or text to avoid any misunderstandings. Remember, it’s never too late to circle back; it may notch up a few points of respect when you can admit you missed something or got it wrong.
Read on to discover your weekly horoscope and what’s in store for your sign during the week of December 10 through December 16, 2023.
Aries
It’s now or never, Aries; the heavens decree a commitment to a fresh sense of adventure and opening up your mind, your world, and perhaps your suitcase. It’s time to travel, if only metaphorically, to broader vistas, ignite inspiration, and take a positive philosophical lens to your life and future. Set your intentions on this month’s new moon forming on Tuesday for all of the above and whatever motivating forces fire up your feel-good centers. If it feels expansive and uplifting, that’s what you’re aiming for. You can always wind it back on Wednesday as Mercury, the planet of the mind and comms, begins a three-week retrograde. In your career sphere, you may be best heading back to the drawing board on an item or two. What could benefit from rethinking or negotiating?
Taurus
If you’ve been keeping an eye on the natural cycles, you’ll know the moon has been winding down from full, and on Tuesday, it catches up with the sun as the monthly ‘new moon’ event we love to set our intentions on. This one is resetting and reconnecting your heart and head in your erogenous sphere of sex, intimacy, and other people’s resources. Oh, and mysteries beyond the material world. With themes of seeking knowledge and truth, you might take an interest in all things metaphysical or occult, like flexing your psychic awareness. What’s the energy in the room telling me, you might ask. Is it time to try that course on mediumship? Or, as a grounded earth sign, you may prefer adventures of the amorous kind and get to know someone much better. Mercury backspins in your sphere of travel and education; is there something you missed? Loop back and reconfigure your way forward.
Adam Driver is done with your “Star Wars” complaints.
As the host of the Dec. 9 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” he performed his monologue while playing the piano and reciting a letter of Christmas wishes to Santa.
“I would like people to stop coming up to me on the street saying, ‘You killed Han Solo!’,” he said. “I didn’t kill him. Wokeness killed Han Solo.”
The joke is a reference to his role as villain Kylo Ren in the “Star Wars” films “The Force Awakens,” “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker.” Kylo kills Han Solo in “The Force Awakens,” a widely controversial storyline among the “Star Wars” fandom.
He began the Christmas list saying, “Hey, Santa. It’s me, Adam Driver, from the nice list. And also ‘Girls.’ I turned 40 this year, Santa, so I would like five pairs of chinos. I also want one of those giant metal Tesla trucks. I think it would pair perfectly with my teeny tiny micropenis.”
“Oh, you know those TikToks, like those couples that do pranks on each other? Can you kill those people?” he continued. “What I want for Christmas is a gingerbread house. Do you think a gingerbread man gets scared when he realizes the house is made of his own skin? That’s a cute one. You can tell your kids that one.”
The episode marks Adam Driver’s fourth time as the host of “Saturday Night Live,” helming the episode alongside musical guest Olivia Rodrigo. Driver first led “SNL” in 2016, when he was joined by Chris Stapleton as musical guest, and returned in 2018 with Kanye West and 2020 with Halsey.
Driver will soon be seen playing motor racing driver and businessman Enzo Ferrari in “Ferrari,” a biographical film directed by Michael Mann that also stars Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gadon, Gabriel Leone, Jack O’Connell, and Patrick Dempsey. The film premiered earlier this year at the Venice International Film Festival and will hit theaters on Christmas Day.
Season 49 of “Saturday Night Live” has also been hosted by Jason Momoa, Pete Davidson, Nate Bargatze and Timothée Chalamet, plus musical guests Tate McRae, Ice Spice, Foo Fighters and Boygenius — and on Oct. 21, Bad Bunny filled both roles himself.
A Boeing 737 passenger jet was forced to make an emergency landing after ‘micro-explosions’ caused both engines to catch fire during take-off.
The S7 airline plane with 175 passengers was flying from Novosibirsk – Russia‘s third largest city – to capital city Moscow.
The fires started as the plane was on the runway taking off, passengers said.
The small explosions led to fires in both engines of a Boeing 737, resulting in an emergency landing.
A video filmed by a passenger shows the alarming sight of engine fire at around 6.30am on Friday. The flames can be seen flickering violently in the passenger windows during the nighttime blaze.
The S7 airline plane with 175 passengers was flying from Novosibirsk – Russia’s third largest city – to capital city Moscow. The fires started as the plane was on the runway taking off, passengers said
A video filmed by a passenger shows the alarming sight of engine fire at around 6.30am on Friday. The flames can be seen flickering violently in the passenger windows during the nighttime blaze
The flames inside the cabin seen through the windows
‘While climbing, sparks and flames suddenly flew from both engines,’ reported Shot media.
‘The right engine, next to which I was sitting, caught fire while still on the runway, several flames burst out,’ said one passenger.
‘We took off and it flared up once every 10 to 20 seconds.
‘Then the second engine caught fire, and they flashed simultaneously.’
The pilots immediately called for an emergency landing and brought the aircraft down safely at Novosibirsk’s Tolmachevo Airport with no casualties among passengers or crew.
The emergency services were on ‘high alert’ for the landing which came some 20 minutes after take-off, according to those on board.
The captain told the passengers on landing that both engines were ‘out of order’ and the aircraft needed to be towed from the runaway after the brakes overheated.
‘During landing, the captain said that the brakes caught fire,’ a passenger told ASTRA media.
‘All passengers have already got off.’
They were bussed to the terminal and told they would have to wait eight hours for a replacement plane to fly them to Moscow.
The cause was engine surging – a ‘violation of gas-dynamic stability with micro-explosions’, reported the Eastern Interregional Investigation Department for Transport of the Russian Investigative Committee.
It is the second day in succession that Russia has been hit by such a terrifying incident.
A day earlier a Tu-204 cargo aircraft suffered an engine ‘explosion’ heard from the ground after take-off from Ulan-Ude, also in Siberia.
A day earlier a Tu-204 cargo aircraft suffered an engine ‘explosion’ heard from the ground after take-off from Ulan-Ude, also in Siberia. Flames can be seen during the flight
The aircraft on fire on Thursday after take-off from Ulan-Ude in Siberia
Footage showed the aircraft ablaze as it jettisoned fuel and made an emergency landing
Footage showed the aircraft ablaze as it jettisoned fuel and made an emergency landing.
A woman witness Lyubov Pichueva said: ‘I heard a powerful explosion coming from above.
‘At first I thought it was fireworks, but the sound was too strange.’
She said: ‘It was very scary.’
An investigation is underway by the East Siberian Transport Prosecutor’s Office.
Russia is suffering an unprecedented spate of air incidents amid signs that Western sanctions are hampering efforts to maintain and service planes, with problems obtaining spare parts.
Since the spring of 2022, airlines have been requiring staff not to enter equipment defects in flight log books, said one report.
A former Nordwind airline pilot said many pilots are relying on ‘Russian luck’.
In the first eight months of this year, there were 120 air accidents in Russia involving civil aircraft operated by Russian airlines.
This is more than double the number in recent years despite significantly fewer flights as a result of Putin‘s war against Ukraine.
Dubai-based distribution and production outfit Oceana Studios has picked up worldwide sales rights to thriller “Tonic,” starring Billy Blair (“Doc Holliday”) and Ed Westwick (“Gossip Girl”).
Written and directed by Derek Presley (“Boon”) and produced by U.S. production company Muscular Puppy, the film follows Sebastian Poe (Blair), a washed-up piano player performing across seedy jazz bars who ends up making a murderous deal with corrupt local police officer Terry Rush (Jason Coviello) to repay a drug debt. Over the course of one night, Sebastian is plunged into the dark streets of Dallas’ Deep Ellum district where he comes across an odd assortment of characters. Westwick plays Stanley Roberson, a ruthless and shady figure whom Sebastian is tasked with assassinating. The film also stars Lori Petty (“You’re All Gonna Die”) as Sebastian’s sister Elise Poe.
The film was shot earlier this year in Deep Ellum, a historical district of Dallas.
The deal was brokered by Oceana Studios CEO Danny Sawaf with producers Jason Starne and Lola Lott of Muscular Puppy.
“Tonic” recently screened at the Los Angeles International Film Festival, where it won best thriller.
Sawaf said: “We’re excited to represent this brilliant film, which is one of those rare crime thrillers that captures your imagination as Sebastian finds himself in a never-ending deluge of crises.”
Recent projects from Oceana Studios include “Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend,” starring Gabriel Byrne and Mira Sorvino, “Monstrous” starring Christina Ricci and horror hit “Terrifier 2.”
Muscular Puppy’s credits include “Boon,” “Red Stone” and “White Tail.”
European Union policymakers agreed on Friday to a sweeping new law to regulate artificial intelligence, one of the world’s first comprehensive attempts to limit the use of a rapidly evolving technology that has wide-ranging societal and economic implications.
The law, called the A.I. Act, sets a new global benchmark for countries seeking to harness the potential benefits of the technology, while trying to protect against its possible risks, like automating jobs, spreading misinformation online and endangering national security. The law still needs to go through a few final steps for approval, but the political agreement means its key outlines have been set.
European policymakers focused on A.I.’s riskiest uses by companies and governments, including those for law enforcement and the operation of crucial services like water and energy. Makers of the largest general-purpose A.I. systems, like those powering the ChatGPT chatbot, would face new transparency requirements. Chatbots and software that creates manipulated images such as “deepfakes” would have to make clear that what people were seeing was generated by A.I., according to E.U. officials and earlier drafts of the law.
Use of facial recognition software by police and governments would be restricted outside of certain safety and national security exemptions. Companies that violated the regulations could face fines of up to 7 percent of global sales.
“Europe has positioned itself as a pioneer, understanding the importance of its role as global standard setter,” Thierry Breton, the European commissioner who helped negotiate the deal, said in a statement.
Yet even as the law was hailed as a regulatory breakthrough, questions remained about how effective it would be. Many aspects of the policy were not expected to take effect for 12 to 24 months, a considerable length of time for A.I. development. And up until the last minute of negotiations, policymakers and countries were fighting over its language and how to balance the fostering of innovation with the need to safeguard against possible harm.
The deal reached in Brussels took three days of negotiations, including an initial 22-hour session that began Wednesday afternoon and dragged into Thursday. The final agreement was not immediately public as talks were expected to continue behind the scenes to complete technical details, which could delay final passage. Votes must be held in Parliament and the European Council, which comprises representatives from the 27 countries in the union.
Regulating A.I. gained urgency after last year’s release of ChatGPT, which became a worldwide sensation by demonstrating A.I.’s advancing abilities. In the United States, the Biden administration recently issued an executive order focused in part on A.I.’s national security effects. Britain, Japan and other nations have taken a more hands-off approach, while China has imposed some restrictions on data use and recommendation algorithms.
At stake are trillions of dollars in estimated value as A.I. is predicted to reshape the global economy. “Technological dominance precedes economic dominance and political dominance,” Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s digital minister, said this week.
Europe has been one of the regions furthest ahead in regulating A.I., having started working on what would become the A.I. Act in 2018. In recent years, E.U. leaders have tried to bring a new level of oversight to tech, akin to regulation of the health care or banking industries. The bloc has already enacted far-reaching laws related to data privacy, competition and content moderation.
A first draft of the A.I. Act was released in 2021. But policymakers found themselves rewriting the law as technological breakthroughs emerged. The initial version made no mention of general-purpose A.I. models like those that power ChatGPT.
Policymakers agreed to what they called a “risk-based approach” to regulating A.I., where a defined set of applications face the most oversight and restrictions. Companies that make A.I. tools that pose the most potential harm to individuals and society, such as in hiring and education, would need to provide regulators with proof of risk assessments, breakdowns of what data was used to train the systems and assurances that the software did not cause harm like perpetuating racial biases. Human oversight would also be required in creating and deploying the systems.
Some practices, such as the indiscriminate scraping of images from the internet to create a facial recognition database, would be banned outright.
The European Union debate was contentious, a sign of how A.I. has befuddled lawmakers. E.U. officials were divided over how deeply to regulate the newer A.I. systems for fear of handicapping European start-ups trying to catch up to American companies like Google and OpenAI.
The law added requirements for makers of the largest A.I. models to disclose information about how their systems work and evaluate for “systemic risk,” Mr. Breton said.
The new regulations will be closely watched globally. They will affect not only major A.I. developers like Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI, but other businesses that are expected to use the technology in areas such as education, health care and banking. Governments are also turning more to A.I. in criminal justice and the allocation of public benefits.
Enforcement remains unclear. The A.I. Act will involve regulators across 27 nations and require hiring new experts at a time when government budgets are tight. Legal challenges are likely as companies test the novel rules in court. Previous E.U. legislation, including the landmark digital privacy law known as the General Data Protection Regulation, has been criticized for being unevenly enforced.
“The E.U.’s regulatory prowess is under question,” said Kris Shrishak, a senior fellow at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, who has advised European lawmakers on the A.I. Act. “Without strong enforcement, this deal will have no meaning.”
YouTube has introduced a new moderation tool for creators that allows them to pause comments, preventing any new comments from being added to videos while preserving those that have already been posted. In a blog post published on Thursday, YouTube said the feature enables creators to “take a break from managing comments if they become overwhelming” and provides some flexibility over how comments are managed.
Before this update, YouTube creators only had two options for moderating what would otherwise be a complete commenting free-for-all: either hold comments for manual review before publishing them, or completely disable all comments on a video. YouTube says the Pause feature is rolling out now — we’ve asked the company for clarification on global availability and will update this story if we hear back.
YouTube’s existing comment moderation tools haved been renamed to make them easier to understand.
As part of its announcement, YouTube also renamed some of its existing moderation settings for easier comprehension. This means instead of being presented with options to “Hold potentially inappropriate comments for review” and toggle to “Increase strictness” — which is a lot to cram into any options menu — users will instead be given a simple choice between On, Pause, or Off. Enabling comments also toggles some optional moderation levels to choose from: None (completely unmoderated), Basic (which holds “potentially inappropriate” comments for review), Strict (which holds a broader range of comments for review), and Hold All.
You can find the new pause option in the video-level comment settings on the watch page within the YouTube app, or in YouTube Studio on both mobile and desktop.
It’s been seven years since “The X Factor” runner-up Rebecca Ferguson last put out a record. Despite her hiatus from the industry, Ferguson never walked away from music, instead using her downtime to craft songs in a more spontaneous way.
“It was me organically calling up people saying, ‘Should we do a session?’ over seven years, very sporadically,” Ferguson tells Variety. “I got to the point where I was like, I do need to get an album out. Then I thought, ‘But I’ve got an album.’”
The result is “Heaven Part II,” which, according to the accompanying press release, is an exploration of “love, family, joy, liberation and Rebecca’s journey to happiness.” Over the past seven years, Ferguson has experienced a number of ups and downs, from personal and professional break-ups (including with her former management company) as well as a new marriage and a new baby, but she was still able to relate to some of the earliest – and most heartbreaking – tracks on the record.
“’You Don’t Have to Leave’ is actually my favourite song I’ve ever written,” Ferguson says. “When I initially wrote that song I was so sad, I was in such a dark place. When I listened back to the original recording, you could just really sense the sadness in my voice.”
Rebecca Ferguson (right) with “The X Factor” judge Cheryl Cole in 2010 (Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
The record is significant in other ways too. For a start, she’s releasing it without the backing of a major record label, affording her an independence that she credits with allowing her to remain in the industry. “I always felt like I needed like this big company or someone to do it for me in a way,” she says. When she realized “I can be an independent person, an independent woman” it gave her the confidence to release the album through her own label, Minerva Oto, and distribute it herself too. “I can make music and love it and I can be in control of it all,” she says.
The timing of the record, out now, is also significant. It comes almost exactly 13 years since the soul singer first took Britain by storm on Simon Cowell’s once ubiquitous competition show, which was broadcast on U.K. network ITV and produced by Cowell’s company Syco and Fremantle subsidiary Thames. “Heaven Part II” also drops 12 years to the day since she released her debut album, “Heaven.”
Ferguson has been vocal about her experience in the music industry over the last decade. Earlier this year she gave evidence at a Parliamentary inquiry into misogyny in the industry. Her testimony was damning, describing a system of exploitative contracts and controlling men.
“I would say that I was most certainly a victim of abuse,” she says, explaining that it was only during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when the world shut down, that she was able to see her experience for what it was. “It was a bit normalized. It almost felt like this is part of the package, which is so toxic not just for me, but for many women working in the creative industry.”
The abuse, as she relays it, was predominantly psychological. People around her (she’s reluctant to name them) controlled who she was allowed to speak to, including her children. Minders and drivers would feed information about her to those who controlled her career. She was forced to participate in tabloid articles she didn’t want to do and expected to remain “obedient” if she wanted to continue working. “It really makes me sad that I had to endure that,” she says, looking back.
Artwork for Rebecca Ferguson’s latest album “Heaven Part II” (courtesy of Rebecca Ferguson)
Inevitably, her experience brings to mind Britney Spears, whose powerlessness in the industry has also been widely documented. “It was fascinating to read Britney’s story because I did see some similarities,” she says. “I was shocked and it made me go ‘Wow.’ She’s a superstar and that was happening to her and we didn’t know.”
“It made me realize just how many women in music are secretly…” Ferguson trails off. “It is a very real experience for a lot of [female] artists.”
Ferguson has also been critical of “The X Factor” itself, saying she was “forced into contracts” with managers, accountants and lawyers since contestants were not free to choose their own. “You are given contracts the size of a Bible,” Ferguson recalls. “Some of them are lifelong. There’s one contract I’m bound to that I’ll be bound to forever. And that, to me, is unacceptable.” (A Fremantle source says contestants were able to choose from a selection of legal advisers while a management company was nominated to represent those who made it through to the live shows).
Ferguson says at one point she reached out to ITV boss Carolyn McCall (who joined the network in 2018) to try and ensure better welfare for reality TV contestants, but the response she got back from ITV amounted to: “That was many years ago and things have changed.” Ferguson had also hoped there might be an investigation into the show’s culture but has come to terms with the fact that’s unlikely to happen. “There has not been any willingness to investigate,” she says.
(A spokesperson for ITV tells Variety: “‘The X Factor’ was produced by Thames and Syco, who were responsible for duty of care and welfare towards contestants on the show. In our correspondence with Rebecca we stressed that the welfare of participants is of the highest priority at ITV as reflected in our duty of care charter.”
A spokesperson for Fremantle says: “During the 2010 series of ‘The X Factor,’ there were robust measures in place to ensure everyone involved in the making of the programme was supported throughout their experience and beyond including a dedicated welfare team.”)
It’s been more than a decade since a 24-year-old Ferguson came second to Matt Cardle on the show (One Direction came third), and there are conflicting accounts about who the singer signed with in the flurry of excitement and publicity that followed. One source told Variety that after the competition ended Ferguson opted to sign with Sony subsidiary RCA Records instead of Syco, effectively ending her official relationship with Cowell, but a rep for Ferguson points out the CD version of “Heaven” is stamped with both RCA and Syco’s logos. Either way, it is clear Ferguson sees Cowell, who conceived “The X Factor” format and was a long-time judge on the show, as bearing some responsibility for what she has since experienced in the music industry at large.
Which is why, a few years ago, she took the opportunity to meet with the music mogul and explain it to him directly. Ferguson says she was “visibly shaking” while recounting her story. “He paused me and said, ‘Rebecca I can see you’re actually shaking. Your breathing’s changed. You’re shaking recollecting it,’” she says. “And he said, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry and I wish I had stepped in to help you.’”
Cowell’s apology, Ferguson clarifies, was “not for his actions, but for the way other people in the industry had treated me.” And while it was welcome, Ferguson says she’s disappointed the Syco boss chose to do it privately rather than publicly. “I don’t have a deep hatred towards him in any way,” Ferguson explains. “[But] it would have taken him nothing to say, ‘I confirm what Rebecca’s saying and I’m deeply sorry that that ended up being her lived experience.’” (When contacted by Variety, a rep for Cowell declined to comment on the private meeting).
At some point, after her last album, 2015’s “Superwoman,” the singer says she considered quitting music altogether — hence the hiatus. “I’ve kind of resolved that now,” Ferguson says. “I don’t hate music; I love music. I just didn’t like the industry too much.”
“The past seven years, I’ve just been on a journey of self-love, which sounds really cheesy, but I have,” she says of making “Heaven Part II.” “I needed to learn to love myself, to start to own who I am. I think you go through your 20s trying to figure out what life is and then you get to your 30s and it’s like, ‘No, this is me.’”
Written by Tony McNamara and adapted from the 1992 Alasdair Gray novel of the same title, “Poor Things” gets its weird on from the get-go. Working in a flamboyantly expressive key, Lanthimos deploys all the elements at his disposal — prosthetics, costumes, meticulous production design and pushily showboating cinematography — to create a familiar yet alien world of calculated dissonance. Baxter, for one, is a crazy quilt of horror, much like Frankenstein’s monster. The child of a scientific madman who experimented on him, he has a face that looks like it was chopped into ragged pieces and then stitched back together by a nearsighted tailor. The parts don’t fit, but they don’t fit with exacting precision.
Bella does grow and her fortunes also change courtesy of two suitors: the earnest and toadying McCandless, whom Baxter hires to document her development, and an oily, smooth-talking huckster with nimble fingers, Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo). After Duncan tickles her fancy (and other parts), Bella sets off with him across land and sea in an episodic adventure that expands her horizons and revs up the story in earnest. She learns about the world’s pleasures and cruelties, and in classic Bildungsroman fashion develops intellectually and morally (kind of). She converses in complete sentences, reads Emerson and meets a mischievous dowager (Hanna Schygulla) and her jaded companion (Jerrod Carmichael).
Like the monster in Mary Shelley’s novel, the movie is a patchwork. In its overall arc it evokes an old-school picaresque; the chapter titles and an interlude in a brothel summon up “Breaking the Waves,” one of Lars von Trier’s movies about a woman enduring a crucible of suffering. Bella scarcely suffers, which is a relief, as is her unladylike gusto and delight in sex. Her pleasure in her own liberation sustains your interest even as all the fussing and strained eccentricity wears on you. “Poor Things” is about the humanation of a monster, yet because Lanthimos isn’t interested in less obvious, blander human qualities like gentleness, the movie grows progressively monotonal, flat and dull. Its design is rich, its ideas thin.
Ruffalo’s and Dafoe’s performances are precise and refined, even during their characters’ more overstated moments, and each creates deeper, more interiorized men than the dialogue suggests. Ruffalo exposes Duncan’s vanity before the character does, while Dafoe brings to life Baxter’s bifurcated personality, his decency and his sadism, with haunted eyes and brisk, no-nonsense equanimity. Together, the two actors work beautifully with Stone, who builds her performance so discreetly — with words, gestures and footfalls that stagger and halt only to then seamlessly flow together — that it can seem as if all the changes Bella experiences were emanating from deep within the character, not the actor.
Scene by scene, polished detail by detail, “Poor Things” throws a great deal out for you to gawk at, guffaw over and slightly recoil from before you’re prompted to giggle again: a steam-engine carriage with a horse’s head, the biomorphic swirls on a ceiling, the bruising colors of a night sky, a feathered dog. For the most part, these particulars are often comic and eye-catching, having been built for maximum wow. Yet as the story stalls out and all the showy minutiae, the viscera and icky yuks just keep on coming, the cumulative effect becomes bludgeoning. It isn’t long into “Poor Things” that you start to feel as if you were being bullied into admiring a movie that’s so deeply self-satisfied there really isn’t room for the two of you.
Poor Things Rated R for nudity, sex, evisceration and scientific malfeasance. Running time: 2 hours 21 minutes. In theaters.
This summer, Sarah Rafferty starred in one of the most-watched shows to hit streaming — four years after the series ended its run.
“Suits,” the legal drama that originally ran on USA Network from 2011 to 2019, has seen a resurgence in popularity since it became available to stream on Netflix in June. (It’s also available to stream in full on Peacock.) In the months since, the series has broken several streaming records — notching 18 billion streaming minutes in July alone — and is the most-watched title ever acquired by a streaming service, according to Nielsen.
It’s the sort of feat Rafferty’s character on the show, the all-knowing and impeccably dressed legal secretary-turned Chief Operations Officer Donna Paulsen, might be tempted to celebrate by partaking in the show’s ever-mysterious can opener ritual. (The series also famously stars Meghan Markle.) Rafferty, though, is hoping some of that success will benefit her newest series for the streamer.
She stars as Katherine Walter, the matriarch of the large Walter family, in Netflix’s adaptation of the Ali Novak’s coming-of-age novel, “My Life With the Walter Boys.” Now streaming, the series revolves around 15-year-old Jackie, who is uprooted from Manhattan to rural Colorado after the deaths of several members of her immediate family. She is taken in by her mom’s best friend, Katherine, and her husband, George (Marc Blucas), who are already raising 10 children, mostly boys.
In a recent video call from her home in the Valley, Rafftery, whose post-”Suits” credits include “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Chicago Med,” talked about the benefit of playing a mom on a teen show, watching “Suits” find a second life on streaming and the possibility of reprising Donna Paulsen.
Sarah Rafferty as Katherine, and Marc Blucas as George in a scene from “My Life With the Walter Boys.”
(Netflix)
How was Katherine Walter, this beloved veterinarian in her community and the matriarch to a family of 10 children, presented to you?
I only had the first episode, and I really focused just on the scene when she goes to Jackie — Jackie was supposed to have fallen in the pool, but [instead] she got splashed by the dogs. That was the scene I was given to make my decision about. I think what I really connected to was the humanity of this mother, desperately wanting to be picked by her best friend’s child to allow her the opportunity to nurture her into her new life. And that Katherine, not to the extent of Jackie, is also really grieving this loss too, and out of that comes this desire for the connection. That really spoke to me. I had known that Katherine herself was an adopted child. We know she had an amazing childhood and beautiful adoptive parents, but she still had an ache to understand her birth mother and where she came from, and maybe a little piece of the “why.” And out of seeking that, she went on this healing journey of building her own family in a modern way with chosen and blood family. I think the fact that she has a big, huge, sprawling, chaotic family is a huge part of her healing journey. She wants to offer that to Jackie.
The show has you back in Canada this time, though, in Alberta. Were you commuting back and forth?
I was commuting. I love Canada. I loved our time in Toronto [where “Suits” was shot.] I raised my kids for nine years there. When it came time to go to Calgary, my kids are too old to come with me. So I was ferociously commuting, like gunning it for the airport at every opportunity that I could. While I was there, there was this magical thing happening with my fictional sons, where sometimes if I had a weekend and I couldn’t go home, which was very hard for me — I didn’t make it on Father’s Day. I didn’t make it home for Mother’s Day. I was sad — they stepped in and folded me into plans and took road trips with me to Banff and those kinds of things. One of the benefits of electing to be the mom on a teen show is that I had downtime. I knew there would be days where we’re shooting a high school party, there’s no moms there, so I could get home to my real teens.
You’re often doing scenes with a gaggle of young actors, mainly boys. How much did you take on a motherly role with them?
If you could look through all my texts, you would see it’s definitely a motherly role. I was just texting with Noah LaLonde (who plays Cole] this morning. Those actors make it easy. I actually had one moment where I said to Melanie [Halsall, who developed the adaptation for TV], “I keep finding myself grabbing their faces!” I was like, “You’re gonna have to edit around a couple of face grabs. I just couldn’t help it. Like, you’ll have to cut away before my hands are on their face.” They were so delightful.
I want to take a step back. You received your MFA from the Yale School of Drama. What stands out to you about that experience?
I learned there that the text is everything. I would say that my favorite class would be Shakespeare, for sure, because that’s the richest text you can be offered. Today, I just geeked out on my Instagram feed — my Instagram feed gives me a lot of Judi Dench. My Instagram is always like, “Here, I think you need a little Judi Dench right now, Sarah.”
Was it that clip from “The Graham Norton Show” where she recited Sonnet 29?
Exactly. Oh, my gosh, I loved that. A takeaway from Yale School of Drama is the reverence for the written word. And the process of taking the written word into being a spoken word. The best lesson I learned, and the most liberating lesson: Your attention is never on yourself. Your attention is always on your acting partner, making them feel something. That kind of relief from self-consciousness is bliss if you can get it.
Sarah Rafferty, who played legal secretary-turned COO Donna Paulsen on “Suits,” spoke about the drama’s resurgence on streaming: “It’s impossible to metabolize or wrap your brain around billions of minutes being watched.”
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
I went on YouTube and relived your TV commercial era. You were part of that very memorable “Herbal Essences” ad campaign with the fake orgasm in the ’90s. Please tell me everything about this. What do you remember about that audition and being the face of it?
I do remember explaining to my parents, “Oh, I got a commercial.” “Oh, what are you going to be doing in it?” I said, “I’m gonna be doing what Meg Ryan did in ‘When Harry Met Sally.’” Because I can’t say “fake orgasm” in front of either one of my parents. I remember that struggle was real in my early 20s. That’s one of the only auditions I remember. I was like, “I’m not gonna get this,” so I just went in there and was so over the top. Maybe my entire Yale Drama School education went into that commercial. The people were in hysterics, they were just laughing so hard because I just assumed like, “This is comedy, right?” Perhaps other people went in with a strangely, real-life version of it. And when I walked out all the other women there were like, “That is yours.” I think it was one of the fastest calls that I got for something. And I got to do it with Dr. Ruth. It was the last commercial that aired before the last “Seinfeld.” I do know it was huge enough that I could cut down on my waitressing shifts, and I could actually shift to being coat check. That was back when commercials were life changing.
I have to tell you about an experience that I’ve never had before, in all my years covering TV. I was at a family birthday party — big Latino family, keep that in mind. And I was talking to an aunt and uncle that I hadn’t seen in months. And they were like, “Oh, what have you been watching lately?” And I said, “I’m rewatching ‘Suits.’” Long story short, half the people at this party were watching it and eager to discuss it. What were you thinking when it became clear it was having a moment over the summer, and even now?
I’m just grateful. It’s impossible to metabolize or wrap your brain around billions of minutes being watched. And we even have a group chat — the “Suits” family group chat — and sometimes an article would come out, and we’d all be like, “What??” What I feel about it is that right now, our world feels like it’s growing more and more fractured and dark. And if people are turning to television, or turning to “Suits,” to escape, or to find relief, or to find comfort, or to have a connection, then that’s incredibly gratifying. It sounds really cheesy, but that fills my heart.
My mom at one point was like, “Everybody at the assisted living is watching.” I was at my children’s bus stop the other day and a woman knocked on the passenger side window. I rolled down the window. She’s said, “You’re Donna from ‘Suits.’ Can you come out? Can you come here?” And I was like, “Sure.”
The timing must have been bittersweet. One of the rules for SAG- AFTRA members during the strike was to refrain from promoting current or past projects, so I imagine it must have been difficult to not be able to fully engage with the fandom.
The strike was a hard time for everybody in the industry. Nothing could ever eclipse my gratitude for “Suits” and for the people who are watching it and for how it is being received. But some of the celebration, of course, had to be tempered by the fact that we were a part of a labor movement, across multiple industries, where workers had to strike to fight for fair pay that was commensurate with the value of the products they were creating.
I think in terms of our industry, we all see really good evidence of the value — “Suits” was getting billions of minutes on Netflix.I hope that people who are into teen dramas are going to binge “My Life With the Walter Boys” on Netflix. I would say that having to fight as long and as hard as we did was at times disheartening, but at the same time, there was so much solidarity on the line, there was so much solidarity from sibling unions, who were also making great sacrifices. It really was a summer of holding two feelings at the same time.
It was recently announced that a new show in the “Suits” universe is in the works. But have there been discussions about reviving the original series and having you and some of the original cast reprise roles beforeAaron Korsh and NBCUniversal went the route they did?
Oh, I don’t know anything about any discussions prior to the announcement of the other iteration of “Suits.” But I can say that Donna lives in my heart forever. And at any time, I’ll be happy to let her out and play. I’m excited as a viewer to enjoy the next “Suits.” I have had a lot of conversations with my friend Patrick [J. Adams, who played Mike Ross on the show] about this moment and that gratitude and connection with the Suitors, as we call them. We’re marinating on some ideas to cook something up for them.
Sarah Rafferty as Donna Paulsen and Rick Hoffman as Louis Litt in a scene from “Suits.”
(Shane Mahood / USA)
Other USA network shows like “Monk” and “Psych” got a movie. Would you do that? Tell me where you see Donna and Harvey in 2023.
Yes, I would do that. The beauty is the writers get to tell me where Donna and Harvey are in 2023. And the sky’s the limit. They can come up with anything, especially if we’re doing a movie version of it. I just have to potentially adjust Donna’s heel height because I’ve taken a significant amount of time outside of those Barbie-like shoes. Since 2019, when I took off the shoes, I haven’t really put them back on. But I’m happy to put on maybe one inch lower or a half-inch lower. Maybe they’ll just custom make them? Do you think there could be a movie?
I think the fans are hungry for one. I’m game for something à la “And Just Like That.” Give me a multiple season return.
I’m down. I was just with with Gina [Torres, who played Jessica Pearson] last week. Jessica and Donna, I think, have a lot left unexplored in their relationship. And they did have a phone call where they called each other by their last names. And they said they missed each other. And so I was like, “I think this is indicative of other phone calls happening, other things happening, maybe offscreen.” And I’d like to know what’s there.
We’ll have “Suits” creator Aaron Korsh read this story and make it happen. Cast members revisiting some of their popular works in the form of a rewatch podcast is also a growing genre. Would you consider doing a “Suits” podcast?
[Calls out to her rep in the other room to get guidance.] How about I answer it this way: Patrick and I have been having some conversations about how we can celebrate this kind of historic viewing of the show, how we can actually process that and feel it and and how we can connect with the fans who made it what it was, in a more real way. I hope that in the new year, we will have something, a way for everybody to connect and celebrate together.
There was also the recent news about this reunion at the ATX TV festival. So far, it was announced that you, Patrick, Aaron and Dulé Hill are participating. Have you been nudging your other co-stars on that group chat — Gabriel, Rick, Gina — to get on board with this?
Yes. And they are all excited pending, literally, just being able to go. We just have so much fun when we’re all together, and ATX has been so good to us and Austin [Texas] is such a cool town.
Has your perception of Donna changed in the time since the show ended?
You saw “Barbie,” right? I actually went to that movie with Gina. There is that moment in that film when the character of the woman who created Barbie says, “Mothers stand still so our daughters can look back and see how far they’ve come.” And, obviously, there’s America Ferrera’s monologue. I think having had some time reflecting on that has deepened my experience of myself as a professional woman and my imaginary experience of Donna’s experience as a professional woman. Another thing I really appreciate about having played Donna is how much Donna resonated with women and young women and with women who perceived her to be a feminist and to be a feminist story.
We were on that show for long enough, almost a decade. The world changed while we were on the show. I was on set when it became clear that Hillary Clinton was probably not going to win the presidential election and very shortly after that, Aaron and I had a conversation — “We got to do something with Donna.” I think I said it pretty emotionally and tearfully, “We’ve got to do something; we’ve got to say more.” Maybe it’s just gonna be a lighter version of some other female dealing with crashing through a glass ceiling, but if three people care, then we did something. The following season, Donna spoke up and said, “I want to be a voting partner and I want a seat at the table, and I want a voice.” And I think all along she knew she was going for COO, so she went for this other thing — she was just playing chess, not checkers. But it was a great conversation. Aaron did an amazing job writing a compelling story and not writing it because he was making a message out of it. As a professional woman saying, “I don’t want to be the woman behind the man.”
In a new update on X (formerly Twitter), X-Men ’97 star Lenore Zann shared a selfie from a recording studio, announcing she is back recording lines for Season 2 of the animated series.
The original X-Men: The Animated Series voice actress confirmed she is in Burbank, California to put her work in for her voice role as Rogue, letting fans know that they are “gonna love [the] new show” as much as she does:
“LA, California, Dec 7, 2023: Happy to be back in the studio continuing to record Season 2 of ‘X-Men 97’ for Marvel Studios – this time in Burbank. Grateful to be back and I jes’ know y’all are gonna love our new show as much as I do.”
She also included a selfie from the studio, in which she’s donning a Letterman-style jacket with Rogue embroidered on the right side and a large X on the left:
X
This comes after Zann confirmed in August 2023 that production on Season 2 had started as she went back into the studio to reprise her Mutant role for the second time under Marvel Studios’ watch.
When Will X-Men ’97 Debut?
For the time being, there is still plenty of work that needs to be done before X-Men ’97 Season 2 is ready to air on Disney+, especially after how many times Season 1 was delayed.
Currently, Season 1 is confirmed to begin streaming on Disney+ in 2024; The Hollywood Reporter shared that the series is set to release “early” in the year, though there is no specific date set in stone yet.
Marvel may want to leave some room in between releases after What If…? Season 2’s run on Disney+ between December 22 and December 30, which could push X-Men 97‘s debut until February or March at the earliest.
But with the X-Men becoming much more prevalent in the MCU thanks to Deadpool 3, Marvel is sure to want to keep work moving on the beloved animated X-Men revival.
These Pokémon keyboards from Higround are not your average keyboards. These are a true Pokémon Master’s keyboards. Not only will they take your typing or gaming to its most evolved form, but there are three different kinds of keyboards in six epic designs just waiting for you to catch ’em all. And that’s not including the five mousepads and one jellybag also available. The Pokémon keyboards are rare, and they’re shiny. They’re just begging to get into your Pokécart. But we feel like they’re going to vanish quicker than you can recite the Pokérap. So get your fingers ready, here’s how you can get your hands on these Pokémon keyboards.
Higround x Pokémon Collaboration
Higround
We’re sure there’s a lot about Higround’s Pokémon keyboards that help them achieve the “perfect balance between gaming and creative pursuits.” But, our main takeaway is these keyboards just look really cool. In addition to the Pokémon drop, Higround has several other fun nerdy collaborations in the works. But, we have to say this seems like the best one yet. The available designs include Poké Ball, Poké Ball Sticker (which features several different Poké Balls), Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, and Mewtwo. Basically, Higround wants you to know it’s not messing around with its Pokémon keyboards. None of that adorable starter nonsense other collaborations feature. No, Higround is going right for the big guns. And the design laid out across the many keys of the keyboard really works.
Available Designs
You can take a look at all the available Pokémon Higround designs below.
Click To View Gallery
Higround
For those wanting to know more about the styles of these Pokémon keyboards, Higround shares the Basecamp 65 keyboard features “ABS Plastic Frame, Pre-Lubed Switches, Dual Silicone Dampening.” Meanwhile, Summit 65 Keyboards include “CNC Aluminum Case, Gasket Mount Design, Screw-In Stabilizers, World’s First Graphic Mechanical Switch.” And finally, the Performance Collection features “The keys to taking your gaming to the next level. All the available Pokémon keyboards come with 68 keys because “68 key is the superior 65% layout. It’s everything you need in the most compact form factor.” Fair enough!
In addition to the keyboards, you can get Pokémon mousepads and a fun jellybag in Gengar purple. Who can resist that? (Yes, this seems to be a bag made out of jelly sandal-like material.)
When Will the Higround Pokémon Keyboards Release and How Much Will They Cost?
Higround
Based on past drops the Pokémon keyboard collection will cost between $150-$300. The mousepads and jellybag will likely be in the $40-$50 range. But get yourself ready. This Pokémon x Higround keyboard collection releases on December 8 at 12 PM PT/3 PM ET via Higround’s special collection website. If Pokémon‘s Van Gogh collection mayhem was anything to go by, these will go quick.
During the Game Awards on December 7, 2023, 10 Chambers announced its new four-player co-op heist game, Den of Wolves. Den of Wolves comes from a studio composed of many of the creative minds that developed Payday: The Heist and Payday 2, including Simon Viklund, the creative director, and Ulf Andersson, the game designer.
We had the opportunity to see a presentation on Den of Wolves, which delved into the concept, location, and gameplay that players can expect once Den of Wolves releases.
Den of Wolves is set in 2097, in a world where technology has become the new tool of thieves, terrorists, and anarchists. Mega-corporations, desperate to out-compete each other in an arms race, have flocked to Midway City. This island quickly became the nerve center for international trade, at a massive human cost.
Image via 10 Chambers
It’s within these massive grey zones that Den of Wolves takes place. Players perform gig jobs as “fixers”. Fixers work outside of corporations and are called upon to steal, assassinate, or hack their way through biological encryptions. But Den of Wolves promises to go beyond the standard heist experience, where you’re given a laundry list of things to do in a linear fashion.
Instead, you’ll have a main objective which you’ll need to build your way up to completing. That will require players to gather intel and materials while ensuring that all the pieces are in place before tackling the main objective.
Likewise, choices will matter. If you have three potential NPCs you can interrogate for information, interrogating one may drive the other two into hiding. This forking narrative-style gameplay promises more replayability, with an ample sprinkle of RNG sprinkled into each mission.
And while players are free to play Den of Wolves casually, it’s a game with a layered and thought-provoking story. Its lore will be woven into the mission and environment, meaning you can choose to interact with it or not.
But ultimately, you’re not meant to be the good guy. You’re a pawn in the system, a cog in the corporate machine. And no matter what, you’re going to have blood on your hands.
Den of Wolves currently has no release date. However, early access will hit PC first, with consoles following after. DLC will likely be added, with the intention of adding to Midway City with new areas and stand-alone story missions. Personally, I can’t wait for Little Tokyo.
About the Author
Daphne Fama
A Staff Writer at Prima Games since 2022, Daphne Fama spends an inordinate amount playing games of all stripes but has a soft spot for horror, FPS, and RPGs. When she’s not gaming, she’s an author and member of the Horror Writers Association with a debut novel coming out in 2025. In a previous life, she was an attorney but found she preferred fiction to contracts and forms
SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from the Season 9 finale of Bachelor in Paradise.
It’s the end of the road for Bachelor in Paradise.
The whopping three-hour Season 9 finale picked up right where things left off last week, with five people — Rachel, Taylor, Brayden, Tyler and Blake — having left the shores of Mexico solo. The morning after the rose ceremony is bleak in Paradise, even though at least one couple is supposed to get engaged at the end of this episode.
Mercedes and Jess are unsure what’s left for them after their relationships ended ahead of the rose ceremony the night before. They want to stay and keep hope alive, but with Paradise coming to an end, their prospects are not looking good. Mercedes gave her rose to Jordan, and Jess saw something in Tanner…but can they really start anything solid in the last week of production?
They are certainly going to try!
Kat and John Henry appear to be one of the more stable couples on the beach now, shockingly. The producers decide to lean into that by handing them a date card. They take a little stroll down the beach and stumble upon some paddle boards. After attempting to actually paddle across the waves, they give up on that and decide to float around and make out. After their paddle boarding excursion, they share a few glasses of champagne on the beach.
Kat opens up to John Henry about struggling during her childhood to find healthy examples of love in her family, but she’s working hard to break the generational trauma she endured for herself and her future children. She admits to having walls up, but she wants to be more vulnerable with John Henry. He seems very moved by her story, reciprocating by sharing details from his own life. He tells her that he has gone through bouts of depression, which is difficult to talk about with people in his life, but both of them admit that they make each other comfortable enough to admit their struggles.
Could Kat and John Henry be the love story this season? Maybe! They certainly appear to have only gotten stronger through this date, and John Henry says he could definitely see an engagement happening.
Back on the beach, Jess and Tanner are going back to the basics. They’re hoping for a date card to take their relationship to really any meaningful level, but it looks like the producers are betting on the stronger couples at the moment, because Aaron and Eliza are the next ones to get invited on a date.
They find themselves at a fire ceremony and sweat lodge, where their shaman asks them to remove their clothes. In confessional, Aaron says he’s all in on Eliza, but he isn’t sure that Eliza reciprocates those feelings. Little does he know, Eliza tells the camera she’s feeling the same way. They both share a fear of rejection and not receiving the love that they give. When Aaron tells Eliza that he’s ready to get down on one knee, she’s ecstatic, telling him that she’s definitely falling for him. Whew! Crisis averted.
Everyone else is taking shots on the beach, just trying to make it through another night in Paradise. Jess and Mercedes are still holding on by a thread. It’s not looking good for them. Kat tries to pull Jess aside to chat, and Jess straight up says no and walks away from her crying. Then she pulls Tanner aside to tell him that she’s been having a rough few days, and she’s trying to be hopeful about their relationship. But, she can’t be herself because she’s still in her head about what’s going on with Blake. She’s done. She’s going home. Bye, Jess!
With Jess gone, Tanner is also out. There’s really nothing left for him in Paradise at this point. Jordan is hoping Mercedes won’t be the next one on her way out.
Kylee and Aven have been going strong since the day they met, but Kylee wants to know if he’s really ready to get engaged. Aven says he doesn’t understand why Kylee is so hung up on the engagement. He thinks that him being committed her emotionally when they leave Paradise should be enough, but she says it’s not. She won’t force him into it, but she is wondering if he’ll ever be ready to get down on one knee. He knows how badly she wants an engagement, and he feels sure about their relationship, but he thinks they could use some time in the real world before he puts a ring on her finger. They end the night in a pretty rocky place, with Aven storming off to go to bed.
The next morning, the vibe is still off. The more she hears about the others’ dates the day before, the more she’s starting to freak out about the fate of her own relationship. She also isn’t thrilled that Aven stormed off when their conversation got difficult. He tries to bring it up the next morning, but she shuts him down. Just as she’s wondering what it’ll take for them to get to the right place, there’s some new faces in Paradise!
Kenny Braasch and Mari Pepin, who got engaged two years ago on Paradise, are back on the beach. Fans might remember that they had their own set of issues in Paradise, and they say it only made them stronger. Maybe they can shed some light on how Kylee and Aven can solve their problems.
But first, they’re getting hitched! Kenny and Mari are there to invite the latest cast to their wedding. Naturally, Jesse Palmer officiates.
Love is in the air after Kenny and Mari exchange their vows. Everyone is thinking about their own relationships, some envisioning themselves up there getting married while others are still wondering about the state of their own love story and if it’ll ever get there (cough, Kylee).
What’s a wedding without a lively reception? Everyone heads back to get ready to rave in celebration of Kenny and Mari’s nuptials and, while love is in the air, this is bound to get messy.
After a bit of partying, Kylee pulls Blake aside for advice — surprise! Blake is back in Paradise for his buddy Kenny’s wedding — and Aven seeks words of wisdom from Kenny and Mari. The couple warn Aven not to pass up an opportunity with Kylee just because things aren’t perfect. Blake tells Kylee to stick to her guns. When they finally talk, Aven tells Kylee that he’s falling in love with her, but he needs more time outside of Paradise before he is ready for an engagement. Kylee says that she is also falling in love with him, but the engagement would solidify “so many things” for her, and his failure to reciprocate makes her doubt their relationship. He still doesn’t understand why the engagement is the only way she can feel confident about their love. Both of them think the other should make a sacrifice here and do what the other wants.
The next morning, things are once again not great in Paradise. Mercedes and Jordan are due for a conversation, because Mercedes doesn’t think that there’s really a spark there. Olivia tells the rest of the group that her bags are packed. Mercedes lets Jordan down easy, and he takes it fairly well. Once Mercedes takes off, Jordan does too.
When spirits appear to have hit a new low, Jesse gathers the crew for some news. He tells them that Paradise as they’ve known it is now over. He needs them to decide what’s next. They’ll need to decide if they can see a future with each other, which will grant them one night in a fantasy suite together. If they can’t commit, they’re out.
Aaron is the first to commit, telling Eliza he’s ready for the next step. After another back-and-forth conversation that goes in many circles, Kylee finally relents. They are not getting engaged at the end of this, but they are staying together. They both leave Paradise as a couple.
Peter is ready to go all in, but Sam doesn’t think they’ve gotten far enough in their relationship. They break up and leave Paradise. Olivia tells Michael she isn’t sure they’re ready to get engaged (duh), but she is hopeful for their relationship outside of Paradise. But Michael says he’s not so sure. Olivia shuts down, and both of them head home.
If you’re keeping track, we’ve quickly narrowed Paradise down to just two couples — John Henry and Kat, and Aaron and Eliza.
After spending the night in fantasy suites, both couples get engaged!
The Paradise producers couldn’t leave us without an update on everyone else. For the most part, everyone is single unless they left as a couple in the first place, except for Brayden. He’s currently dating Christina Mandrell from Zach’s season. Kylee and Aven are still going strong.
Since leaving the beach, Aaron and Eliza have supposedly hit some speed bumps, but they’re still working through it. Kat and John Henry are still happily engaged.
That’s all for now! See you in January, to see if Joey Graziadei falls in love on The Bachelor.
Suki Waterhouse perfectly demonstrated how to wear pajamas outside the house this winter—and not just for your family’s annual holiday card photoshoot.
Bundled underneath a black shearling-lined leather jacket and luxurious scarf, Waterhouse went for a winter white ensemble, complete with an ankle-length sheer white top layered under a cream cardigan and paired with white Dissh satin pants, which originally retailed for $109.99 but are currently on sale for $88. By topping off her look with a pair of white sneakers, Waterhouse added even more comfort to the equation without sacrificing her ’70s glam rock aesthetic.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 06: Suki Waterhouse is seen in Midtown on December 06, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images)Gotham
Suki Waterhouse and Rob Pattinson weren’t alone on their date night. In other photos from the evening, Taylor Swift can be seen walking out of the screening with the famous couple in tow. Swift contrasted her friend’s ethereal white ensemble with a Reputation black maxi dress, which she paired with a faux fur Penny Coat from Charlotte Simone and a gold zodiac clutch by Naeem Khan.
EXCLUSIVE: It’s not just Netflix that made a bid for Warner Bros.’ scrapped Coyote vs. Acme. Paramount, Apple, and Amazon have also seen the movie as well. Of those, Paramount has made a bid, and the plus there is a theatrical release. The Melrose lot could use it on the 2024 release calendar. Debt-laden exhibitors would want it, too.
Meanwhile, Amazon is mulling, I’m told, with no formal bids made. First, it takes longer over there to conduct business and get decisions through the proper channels. I also hear marketing is trying to get their heads around the picture (seriously — there’s a lot of action scenes in the movie and hysterical jokes that can easily be used in trailers. I’ve seen the movie. Look out for the Porky Pig pant-less joke).
Warners is playing hardball as they want to cover the $70M and then some. So, TBD who wins this. But at the end of the day, Warners, Acme vs. Coyote isn’t Disney’s Song of the South. There’s no reason to bury this film in the vault for others not to see it. A lot of blood, sweat, tears went into this, and the sense of humor rivals the sophistication of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Also, wake up, Warner Bros — all of this is for bad business.
One filmmaker told me recently, “We have a project over at Warners in development. We’re so not pursuing active development until the studio is sold. God, knows what will happen to projects in development.” Wadda ya think? Shouldn’t those fears be dispelled?
C’mon Warners, either sell or release: Do we really want your history to go down as a place that’s known as killing projects; and a former Warner Media CEO (Jason Kilar) known for releasing movies to the widest audience possible via streaming and theatrical?
Some tell us over at the Burbank lot that Coyote vs Acme was originally conceived for streaming: Not true, it had a theatrical date, that being Barbie’s release date of July 21. Clearly the economics on this project were worked out during greenlight, duh: DC League of Superpets which was more expensive at $90M, opened to $23M stateside and finaled at $93.6M domestic, and made $207.6M WW.
Sony and Apple aren’t making bids, sources say.
Keep checking back — because that’s not all, folks.
Peacock has renewed its action-comedy series Twisted Metal—and no, we’re not clowning around.
Series star and executive producer Anthony Mackie revealed the news during The Game Awards live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Thursday night. Twisted Metal is nominated for Best Adaptation.
The half-hour live-action TV series based on the classic PlayStation game series is described as a high-octane action comedy, based on an original take by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick and written by Michael Jonathan Smith.
The Poor Things actor appeared on the latest episode of Hot Ones, where he told host Sean Evans that the Magic Mike star “did ask me to slap the shit out of him.”
Ruffalo quipped that “it was easy to do because he’d beaten the shit out of me so many times” since the co-stars had “like four months of wrestling, of learning how to wrestle together” for the film.
The Bennett Miller-directed film explores the real-life story of wealthy heir John du Pont, who murdered U.S. Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz in 1996. Tatum and Ruffalo play brothers Mark and David Schultz, respectively, while Steve Carell plays John du Pont.
Ruffalo explained that Tatum had “30 pounds on me so when it came time to smack the shit out of him, I was like, ‘Came from Alabama,’ and popped his co-stars’s eardrum in the process.
Foxcatcher went on to score five Oscar nominations, including Carell for best leading actor, Ruffalo for best supporting actor, Miller for best achievement in directing, best original screenplay and best makeup and hairstyling.
Later during his Hot Ones interview, Ruffalo shared what it was like being roommates with Joaquin Phoenix while they filmed 2007’s crime drama, Reservation Road.
“He’s a great cook, and he turned me on to vegan cuisine and so he would cook all the time and he was a great roommate,” Ruffalo recalled. “He was a roommate who would be out and you’d get a text [saying] ‘you need anything? Need me to pick up anything?’ The place is clean, all the dishes were washed, he’s got a great sense of humor.’”
At some point between 1997’s Homogenic and 2001’s Vespertine, Björk wrote and recorded “Oral,” a sweeping pop song about the fantastical possibilities of meeting someone new. Deciding it didn’t fit with what she was working on at the time, she shelved it and promptly lost it among her archives. Newly rescued, this updated version features co-production from Sega Bodega and vocals from Rosalía. Pairing misty-eyed strings with syncopated rhythms inspired by ’90s dancehall, the song has an air of youthful exuberance; the lyrics ooze self-consciousness, but also unbridled optimism. When Björk sings “Let me introduce one to the other/The dream and the real, get them acquainted,“ it’s not hard to connect the song’s aspirational spirit to the cause that it supports: saving Iceland’s fjords from the destructive practices of factory fish farming. In that sense, “Oral” is a time-traveling vessel, reaching for wide-eyed hope as it looks toward the future.
Producing a movie is only half the battle — now you need people to watch it and spread the word. Advertising films can be challenging, especially with how saturated the market is.
How can filmmakers stand out from the crowd? How can you market the production by yourself? Here are seven recommendations for solo marketing in the digital age.
1. Devote Time to the Poster
First impressions mean a lot nowadays, considering the modern attention span. Captivating an audience starts with a compelling movie poster. Your design will make or break the interest of many potential viewers, so devote serious time and creativity to it.
Posters offer a blank canvas for you to design. This artwork requires a delicate balance of solid visuals while keeping it simple. Filmmakers must ensure the title is clear for the average person to see while conveying the movie’s vibes in the background.
For example, a war-centered film may feature a soldier in uniform with fighter jets or tanks behind them. Although it’s a small detail, the poster must be as memorable as the film to grab the audience’s attention.
2. Shoot a Captivating Trailer
Another crucial part of a first impression is shooting a captivating trailer. Filmmakers should think of this advertisement as an audition for the audience. In a couple of minutes or less, the producers should tell viewers why they should take time to watch the entire film.
Elevator pitches are essential when going through job interviews, and they have a similar function in convincing audiences.
After creating a trailer, it’s time to use all available tools for getting the word out. Film festivals are an excellent place to get the industry involved, but getting a movie accepted is not a sure thing. Social media is a more affordable means of advertising and offers quicker access to the general public.
3. Leverage Social Media
The power of social media grows annually, with new platforms rising and legacy websites retaining high engagement. Experts say the number of social media users will reach 5 billion by 2024 and nearly 6 billion by the decade’s end. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have large followings, but modern platforms like TikTok can make something go viral quickly. Filmmakers should consider posting short clips to draw viewers.
Social media is also critical nowadays due to its reach. For example, research shows Facebook is the most popular platform in North America, South America and many other countries worldwide. Building an audience on this app will serve your movie well. However, be mindful of what you post. Images are excellent, but videos can steal the show for potential viewers.
4. Take Advantage of Trends
Videos are the most important method of advertising on social media. These clips build brand awareness and boost conversion rates when creators post engaging content. In today’s digital age, filmmakers can elevate themselves by humanizing their content. Their social media pages could feature their name, creating a relationship between themselves and the audience.
Viral trends elevate social media users and let them engage with viewers. Filmmakers should tie their movies to viral trends on TikTok and other platforms to boost their reach. Alternatively, they can create trends based on their film’s plot. For example, they can encourage viewers to recreate a cocktail or lip-sync a dramatic scene from the movie.
5. Be a Content Creator
Nowadays, brand awareness for the filmmakers themselves is essential. Producers need people to see your films and associate your content with you as a person.
For example, you know what you’ll get when you see Michael Bay and Ari Aster in the credits. You want people to recognize your name, so building your brand is crucial. Filmmakers can achieve this by being content creators.
The options for modern media are endless. For example, podcasts make excellent supplementary content to pair with a movie, giving the audience a behind-the-scenes look. Producing one doesn’t need much equipment, so content creators can keep it simple. Adding a visual element is effective marketing, sopodcasters use LED lights to increase the brightness and ensure viewers can easily see the host.
6. Use Old-Fashioned Advertising
While modern advertising occurs online, there is room for old-fashioned advertising on TV and radio. This strategy works best if the film has a targeted audience based on geography.
For example, a documentary about a Minneapolis politician will be most popular among Twin Cities and Minnesota residents. Filmmakers should consider running ads on local television and radio stations to reach their target audience.
7. Build Relationships With the Media
A filmmaker’s relationship with the media is essential to ensure marketing success. The most straightforward path is to send the movie to local critics and ask for a review.
Giving them an exclusive preview could be a solid opportunity for them in the field of movie critiques and for you as the filmmaker. Critics with less experience may be more eager to write reviews if they need to make a name for themselves.
While movie critics are a solid option, exercising caution is essential because you don’t want to get on their bad side before they’ve seen the opening credits. Filmmakers should consider hiring a publicist or other communications professionals if the budget allows.
Solo marketing adventures may require producers to persuade critics themselves. Regardless, making connections is essential for getting your name out there positively.
Navigating the Marketing Mountain
Producing a film is hard enough, and now you must get people to watch it. The movie market is saturated, so breaking through and grabbing attention can be challenging to do by yourself. However, these seven tips can get your marketing campaign started.
Lean into modern trends and popular social media apps to reach broad audiences and maximize engagement.
Oscar Collins is the editor-in-chief atModded. He’s passionate about films, filming techniques and the finer details of filmmaking. Follow him on Twitter@TModded for frequent updates on his work!
The mother of B.C. teenager Amanda Todd, who was bullied into suicide by a Dutch national, says she’ll be “so angry” if a court in Amsterdam doesn’t give him significant extra jail time on the basis of his Canadian conviction last year.
Judges at the Amsterdam District Court said earlier Thursday they would rule in two weeks on the conversion of the 13-year sentence for Aydin Coban, who was convicted of the extortion and harassment of Amanda.
U.S. man convicted of exploiting B.C.children a reminder of risks online
Mother Carol Todd, who’s in Washington, D.C., to speak to a group campaigning against child exploitation, says the Dutch process is part of a “never-ending story,” a remark echoing a message held up by Amanda in a YouTube video describing her ordeal before she died in 2012.
Story continues below advertisement
She says the timing of the latest hearing, a week after Amanda’s birthday, has been difficult, but she will continue to raise awareness of online predators driven by “a mother’s love and a mother’s passion” to keep other children safe.
Coban was already serving an 11-year Dutch sentence for cyberbullying more than 30 other victims when he was sent to Canada to stand trial in the Todd case, on the condition he serve any sentence in the Netherlands.
Coban’s lawyers say he should get no extra time in a Dutch prison for the Todd case, while prosecutors say Coban should serve about 4 1/2 years of his Canadian sentence in the Netherlands.
The Canadian sentence must be converted in order to conform with Dutch rules.
Dutch prosecutor asks for reduced sentence for Aydin Coban
Coban blackmailed 15-year-old Amanda to expose herself in front of a webcam. She took her own life after recounting her ordeal in the YouTube video that has been watched by millions around the world.
Story continues below advertisement
Earlier this year, the Amsterdam court said it needed more information from Canadian authorities before converting the sentence. That information was added to the case dossier but not explained in Thursday’s hearing.
Coban was not in court for the brief hearing where his lawyer, Robert Malewicz, told a three-judge panel his client should get no extra time, but if they disagree, they should impose a maximum sentence of one year, with half the sentence suspended.
The Amsterdam court said it would deliver its sentencing judgment on Dec. 21. It can be appealed in the Dutch Supreme Court.
Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 took the marquee Game of the Year prize at the 10th annual Game Awards, which were handed out tonight at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Actor Timothée Chalamet presented the Game of the Year award. Baldur’s Gate 3 also won for Best Performance, Best Community Support, Best RPG, Best Multiplayer, and copped the Player’s Voice awards.
Other winners included Alan Wake 2for Best Direction, Alan Wake 2for Best Narrative, Cocoonfor Best Debut Indie and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomfor Best Action/Adventure.
Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 came into the ceremony with a leading eight nominations apiece.
Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarök dominated last year’s Game Awards, with Ragnarök scoring seven wins and Elden Ring taking four, including Game of the Year.
The tech-based awards show did not skimp on star power, as it brought out Matthew McConaughey to introduce Archetype Entertainment’s sci-fi space adventure, Exodus. And in a surprise appearance, writer-director Jordan Peele teamed up with horror game icon Hideo Kojima to announce an upcoming mystery game named OD, starring Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer, and Udo Kier. Kojima and Peele boasted that the game pushes the boundary of the genre and functions as both a movie and a video game.
Some of the other big names present included Anthony Mackie, Ed Boon, Simu Liu, Zedd, and the cast of Prime Video’s Fallout, Aaron Moten, Ella Purnell, and Walton Goggins.
The show also included special live performances by Heilung and Poets of the Fall appearing as “Old Gods Of Asgard” from Remedy Entertainment’s Alan Wake franchise.
Additionally, Loren Allred performed music from the original soundtrack of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. The Game Awards Orchestra, conducted by BAFTA and Emmy nominated composer Lorne Balfe, performed scores from the year’s Game of the Year nominees and more.
For the second year, The Game Awards 2023 honored the most innovative, game-inspired projects across entertainment in the Best Adaptation category, with The Last of Us (PlayStation Productions/HBO) taking home the award this year.
Here are the winners at the 2023 Game Awards:
Game of the Year
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Best Game Direction
Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Best Adaptation
The Last of Us (PlayStation Productions/HBO)
Best Narrative
Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Best Art Direction
Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing)
Best Score and Music
Final Fantasy XVI, Composer Masayoshi Soken (Square Enix)
Best Audio Design
Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks)
Best Performance
Neil Newbon, Baldur’s Gate 3
Innovation in Accessibility
Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios)
It’s been a long evening of celebrating 2023’s onslaught of incredible video game releases, and it’s all built up to this moment. The Game Awards’ 2023 Game of the Year is none other than Baldur’s Gate 3.
Of course, it had to go to Larian Studios’ genre-defining role-playing game, didn’t it? Baldur’s Gate 3 has taken the gaming world by storm since it was released, thanks to a captivating choice-based story, an engaging combat system, and loveable characters. Last month, Baldur’s Gate 3 won The Golden Joystick Awards’ Ultimate Game of the Year accolade, so this is yet another award under Larian Studios’ belt, and there’s no way that it doesn’t deserve every one it gets.
What’s more, Xbox Series X|S owners, the wait is finally over. Over on social media, Larian has announced that Baldur’s Gate 3 is available to download and play right now, so you can dive right into the action (after a rather chunky download, of course).
“The Challenge” winner Johnny Bananas, “Love Is Blind” alum Shake Chatterjee and “Love and Hip Hop: Miami” upstart Bobby Lytes found themselves up for banishment from the “House of Villains” this week.
Lytes was actually the Supervillain of the Week, and put himself on the chopping block against Bananas, arguable the greatest competitor in reality TV history, and Chatterjee, who had skirted elimination the previous week.
Was Lytes’ self-nomination incredibly bold? Or incredibly boneheaded? Read on to find out the latest eliminee from the “House of Villains.”
Spoiler alert: The following contains major spoilers from “House of Villains” Episode 108.
Bobby, you had an epic run on “House of Villains” but you ended up being your own undoing. What possessed you to nominate yourself?
Lytes: It was the simple fact that for majority of the time in the house I had yet to see anybody actually be a real villain. I was like “You know what? Let me shake s–t up. So I decided to shake things up. And did I know it was going to be a risk? Yes. Did I care? No. Because unlike everyone else in the house, that was after the money, I was just out to the title. So I think that me making that move — putting myself up for elimination, going against Jonny Fairplay, and really putting my foot down because it was only right that I put bananas on the hit list — I think I proved to the world that I am the number one villain. Period.
I write humorous captions for my job. It’s not easy. Were you nervous when you found out the elimination challenge was your housemates voting on whose caption was the funniest?
I realized that day how unfunny I was. It’s one thing for me to just be myself and make people laugh. But to be put on the spot and come up with captions for a picture in order to make an audience laugh and everyone to find it funny, it’s a little different. And I was under so much pressure. I was so nervous. It was all hitting me that I was in the redemption challenge and that I was at risk. It just all hit me at once and I couldn’t even think. I had so many brain farts.
Did you have an “oh sh-t” moment when you realized you were at risk of elimination?
Most of the other challenges are based solely off of your performance. This one, it was based off of everyone else’s opinion. So that’s when alliances really can come into play. And I think that’s what was happening secretly. Everyone else was trying to decided, like really figure out before they even voted, who wrote this caption? So it became this really, really tedious situation where the control was no longer in my hand.
Would you have changed anything during your run?
In the beginning, I chose an alliance too early. And I think that kind of allowed for stronger alliances to form, if you know what I mean. So I would just wait and see and wait to be approached next time instead of me approaching others and trying to form what I thought was the smarter alliance.
It must’ve hurt to see your girl Tanisha vote for you.
Yeah, it was a little shocking. I didn’t know until the episode aired who actually voted for me, so I was happy. I just felt so warm inside to see that Omarosa still chose me, because she always votes with the house. And Anfisa, that was sweet. She owed it to me.
Tanisha, I’m not mad at her. She had to do what was best for her game. And Shake and Bananas were her roommates. Ultimately, it was that side of the house versus the other side. I’m not mad at it. I do not hate her. I wish her the best of luck and I’m still rooting for her.
Baldur’s Gate 3 was the big winner at The Game Awards, snagging six trophies, including Game of the Year, in the annual ceremony recognizing the best and brightest titles in gaming. It also earned prizes for Best Community Support, Best RPG, Best Multiplayer, Players’ Voice and Best Performance (for Astarion actor Neil Newbon).
Going into Thursday’s awards, Alan Wake 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3 had the most nominations, each earning eight nods. Alan Wake 2 also fared well at the ceremony, snagging three trophies for Best Narrative, Best Art Direction and Best Game Direction.
The 10th annual Game Awards were streamed live from the Peacock Theater in L.A. on Dec. 7, across more than 30 platforms including YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, TikTok Live and X.
As always, the ceremony was packed with surprises, including the announcement of EA Originals’ upcoming title Tales of Kenzera: ZAU and Sega’s reveal that they’re rebooting retro franchises including Crazy Taxi, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Jet Set Radio and Shinobi.
Here is the full winners list:
Game of the Year Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE) Resident Evil 4 (Capcom) Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Game Direction Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2(Insomniac Games/SIE) Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Adaptation Castlevania: Nocturne (Powerhouse Animation/Netflix) Gran Turismo (PlayStation Productions/Sony Pictures) The Last of Us (PlayStation Productions/HBO) The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Illumination/Nintendo/Universal Pictures) Twisted Metal (PlayStation Productions/Peacock)
Best Narrative Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt Red) Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE)
Best Art Direction Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks) Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games) Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Score and Music Alan Wake 2, Composer Petri Alanko (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Baldur’s Gate 3, Composer Borislav Slavov (Larian Studios) Final Fantasy XVI, Composer Masayoshi Soken (Square Enix) Hi-Fi Rush, Audio Director Shuichi Kobori (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Composed by Nintendo Sound Team (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Audio Design Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Dead Space (Motive Studio/EA) Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE) Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
Best Performance Ben Starr, Final Fantasy XVI Cameron Monaghan, STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor Idris Elba, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Melanie Liburd, Alan Wake 2 Neil Newbon, Baldur’s Gate 3 Yuri Lowenthal, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Innovation in Accessibility Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment) Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios) Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE) Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games) Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
Games for Impact A Space for the Unbound (Mojiken Studio/Toge Productions/Chorus) Chants of Sennaar (Rundisc/Focus Entertainment) Goodbye Volcano High (KO_OP) Tchia (Awaceb/Kepler Interactive) Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver Digital/Netflix) Venba (Visai Games)
Best Ongoing Game Apex Legends (Respawn Entertainment/EA) Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red) Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix) Fortnite (Epic Games) Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)
Best Community Support Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red) Destiny 2 (Bungie) Final Fantasy XIV (Square Enix) No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)
Best Independent Game Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive) Dave the Diver (MINTROCKET) Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17) Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio) Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)
Best Debut Indie Game Cocoon (Geometric Interactive/Annapurna Interactive) Dredge (Black Salt Games/Team 17) Pizza Tower (Tour de Pizza) Venba (Visai Games) Viewfinder (Sad Owl Studios/Thunderful Publishing)
Best Mobile Game Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (Applibot/Square Enix) Honkai: Star Rail (HoYoverse) Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Sunblink Entertainment) Monster Hunter Now (Niantic/Capcom) Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver/Netflix)
Best VR/AR Game Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE) Humanity (tha LTD/Enhance Games) Horizon Call of the Mountain (Guerrilla Games/Firesprite/SIE) Resident Evil Village VR Mode (Capcom) Synapse (nDreams)
Best Action Game Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco) Dead Island 2 (Dambuster Studios/Deep Silver) Ghostrunner 2 (One More Level/505 Games) Hi-Fi Rush (Tango Gameworks/Bethesda Softworks) Remnant 2 (Gunfire Games/Gearbox Publishing)
Best Action/Adventure Game Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment/Epic Games Publishing) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games/SIE) Resident Evil 4 (Capcom) Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Respawn Entertainment/EA) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix) Lies of P (Round8 Studio/Neowiz Games) Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio) Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks)
Best Fighting Game God of Rock (Modus Studios Brazil/Modus Games) Mortal Kombat 1 (NetherRealm Studios/WB Games) Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 (Ludosity/Fair Play Labs/GameMill Entertainment) Pocket Bravery (Statera Studio/PQube) Street Fighter 6 (Capcom)
Best Family Game Disney Illusion Island (Dlala Studios/Disney) Party Animals (Recreate Games) Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo) Sonic Superstars (Arzest/Sonic Team/Sega) Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Sim/Strategy Game Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (WayForward/Nintendo) Cities: Skylines II (Colossal Order/Paradox Interactive) Company of Heroes 3 (Relic Entertainment/Sega) Fire Emblem Engage (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo) Pikmin 4 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Best Sports/Racing EA Sports FC 24 (EA Vancouver/EA Romania/EA Sports) F1 23 (Codemasters/EA Sports) Forza Motorsport (Turn 10 Studios/Xbox Game Studios) Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged (Milestone) The Crew Motorfest (Ubisoft Ivory Tower/Ubisoft)
Best Multiplayer Presented by Discord Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) Diablo IV (Blizzard Entertainment) Party Animals (Recreate Games) Street Fighter 6 (Capcom) Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Players’ Voice Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (CD Projekt Red) Genshin Impact (HoYoverse) Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac Games / SIE) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
Most Anticipated Game Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix) Hades II (Supergiant Games) Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega) Star Wars Outlaws (Massive Entertainment/Ubisoft) Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco/Arika)
Content Creator of the Year IronMouse PeopleMakeGames Quackity Spreen SypherPK
Best Esports Game Counter-Strike 2 (Valve) Dota 2 (Valve) League of Legends (Riot Games) PUBG Mobile (LightSpeed Studios/Tencent Games) Valorant (Riot Games)
Best Esports Athlete Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (League of Legends) Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (CS:GO) Max “Demon1” Mazanov (Valorant) Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez (Call of Duty) Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk (League of Legends) Phillip ”ImperialHal” Dosen (Apex Legends)
Best Esports Team Evil Geniuses (Valorant) Fnatic (Valorant) Gaimin Gladiators (Dota 2) JD Gaming (League of Legends) Team Vitality (Counter-Strike)
Best Esports Coach Christine “potter” Chi (Evil Geniuses – Valorant) Danny “zonic” Sorensen (Team Falcons – Counter-Strike) Jordan “Gunba” Graham (Florida Mayhem – Overwatch) Remy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam (Team Vitality – Counter-Strike) Yoon “Homme” Sung-young (JD Gaming – League of Legends)
Best Esports Event 2023 League of Legends World Championship Blast.tv Paris Major 2023 EVO 2023 The International Dota 2 Championships 2023 Valorant Champions 2023
Katcy Stephan represents Variety as a member of The Game Awards jury.
#2: Contestants say they had to freeze during Red Light, Green Light for up to 40 minutes sometimes, meaning the girl who squatted deserves wayyy more credit.
Mission International is led by producer Angie Chai, best known for hit teen idol drama “Meteor Garden” and forming successful boyband F4.
Mediacorp and Mission International will co-develop scripts in the fantasy-romance, coming-of-age and female empowerment genres. Once developed, the projects will attach artistic and production talents from both Singapore and Taiwan.
Virginia Lim, chief content officer, MediaCorp, said: “Joining hands with Mission International, one of the most influential companies in the Chinese entertainment industry, enables us to continue creating fresh, compelling content that resonates with audiences in Singapore and the region. We are excited to embark on this partnership and look forward to making waves in the regional drama scene and potentially discover the next Asian superstar.”
Angie Chai, chair and CEO of Mission International, added: “With Singapore’s connectivity and global hub status, we look forward to working with Mediacorp as our strategic partner. Through this partnership, we aim to bring together each other’s passion and expertise in storytelling to create quality Chinese shows and hopefully, unearth the next big star in Asia.”
Meanwhile, the three winners of MediaCorp and the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) In the Name of Love regional writing competition, who each won a S$10,000 ($7,400) development grant, will work with MediaCorp to further develop their scripts, it was revealed at the ATF.
The competition invited scriptwriters to submit their original concepts for a Chinese drama series about life and the various facets of love, including but not limited to romantic love. Of the 178 entries received, the three winners were “My Ghost, My Love,” which depicts an author’s romantic encounter with a ghost; “Lives at Stake,” which follows a young delinquent’s struggles with life and death as an emergency medical technician; and “Tune Into You,” a story about a theater artist who is unexpectedly saved from the brink of suicide by love ballads.
MediaCorp will announce which of the three scripts it intends to select for production in due course.
Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, took the witness stand on Thursday for the third consecutive day.
After recounting the March incident that led to Majors’ arrest, Jabbari faced questions from the actor’s defense attorney about the injuries she sustained on the night of the alleged assault.
Photo: AFP via Getty Images
One sticking point for defense attorney Priya Chaudhry was the fact that Jabbari went out to a nightclub immediately after the alleged assault.
“I was feeling pain but I was choosing to ignore it. I was filled with adrenaline,” Jabbari told the Manhattan jury. “The next morning is when [the pain] sunk in. When I woke up, I felt like I had been hit by a bus.”
Why Jabbari Went to a Nightclub
In her earlier testimony, Jabbari described meeting three strangers on the street after her altercation with Majors, who invited her to Loosie’s Nightclub. She went, she said, because “she didn’t want to be alone”.
It was not until the next morning that Majors returned to the couple’s apartment and found an injured Jabbari seemingly passed out.
“I was trying to sleep. I ended up being sick. My head hurts, my ear,” she told officers in a video played for the jury.
Photo: Entertainment Weekly
After the jury watched footage from the nightclub, Chaudhry asked Jabbari if she had hit her head on the DJ booth. Jabbari responded, “I did not”. When asked if she felt blood on her head, Jabbari responded, “I didn’t touch behind my ear, so I didn’t.”
“I Knew Not to Fight Back”
After the jury saw video surveillance footage from various points of the night, including the street where Jabbari met the strangers, Chaudhry questioned the witness about “fluffing” her hair despite her previously stated injuries.
Chaudhry also questioned Jabbari about the altercation in the car, asking whether Majors was “using a lot of force” and whether it hurt.
“Yes,” Jabbari replied. “I knew to not fight back”.
The Jonathan Majors domestic assault trial is expected to continue through next week. If convicted of the charges against him, Majors faces up to a year in prison.
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below. One of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond-Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon! Also, thanks for reading!
Zack Snyder’s darker take on Superman in the DCEU was an attempt to avoid making him a perfect, propaganda-like character.
Marvel’s Sentry, who may debut in the MCU, shares similarities with Superman but has flaws and a destructive alter-ego called The Void.
The new Superman in the DCU could explore the human element, like Snyder attempted to do, while still introducing high stakes and complexity.
Though his depictions had its flaws, Zack Snyder had a big hand in shaping the DCEU and its most popular characters before it was cut short to give way to the DCU reboot – but his Superman dream could still become a reality in the MCU. Henry Cavill’s Superman was largely a hit, even if the movies he appeared in weren’t always as consistent. The praise was far from universal, however, as Superman and the wider DCEU drew criticism for being too dark, acting as an over-weighted counterbalance to the lighter MCU.
Superman is one of DC Comics’ most iconic Superheroes, but he is also a difficult one to handle in the context of a movie narrative. Superman is the quintessential superhero in every traditional sense, with a litany of powers that renders him a god among men and a squeaky-clean moral compass to boot. Yet this also makes him a character without flaws, which can make Superman very hard to empathize with. This is what shaped Snyder’s depiction of the Man of Steel, but there is a character in the MCU that comes ready-made with that baggage.
Several MCU characters return for Phase 5’s Thunderbolts, a team of antiheroes and reformed villains attempting to follow in the Avengers’ footsteps.
Sentry’s MCU Debut Can Answer Zack Snyder’s Superman Dream
Snyder’s reasoning for delivering a darker take on Superman was the desire to avoid making him a “piece of pure propaganda” and irreproachable in every way. By most metrics, Sentry is Marvel’s answer to Superman. While there are many Superman-adjacent MCU superheroes like Captain Marvel or Adam Warlock – Sentry is by far the most godlike of them all. Yet what Superman lacks in shortfalls, Sentry makes up for in spades thanks in no small part to the world-ending alter-ego he harbors inside of him, applicably dubbed “The Void.”
Rumors suggest that Sentry will make his MCU debut in Thunderbolts, which will put the comparatively underpowered team of anti-heroes through their paces, to say the least. Yet the nuances surrounding pre-established notions of good and evil are baked into the narrative from the jump. It didn’t take long for the DCEU to get stuck into the “what if Superman was the enemy” question with the arrival of Batman V Superman, but with one movie under his belt, it felt somewhat hasty. With Sentry, the implications of having a nigh-omnipotent being running rampant on Earth (and beyond) is already a central pillar of his character.
Steven Yeun is believed to be playing Sentry in Thunderbolts, but Marvel has yet to officially confirm this.
Sentry Can Explore An Old Superman Idea
The prospect of someone – or something – as powerful as Superman simply existing in Earth’s atmosphere isn’t as unprecedented as it may first appear. Superman’s ability to level a city on a whim is what spurs Batman to shore up countermeasures in Batman V Superman to a somewhat surprising degree of success – but it’s also something that humanity has emulated in the real world. Namely, in their response to the threat of nuclear weapons.
Superman being an allegory for nuclear threats is an old idea that has been explored through the likes of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and its debut of the hammy supervillain and Superman clone, Nuclear Man. This is why Superman’s inherent virtue is so important, as his power levels must be counterbalanced by the assurances that he would never use them against humanity. Sentry, however, has no such assurances and is instead a “ticking time bomb” that threatens humanity wherever The Void is prompted to emerge – which is always a big concern.
How DC’s Next Superman Can Be More Like Sentry
While the DCU is projected to depict a more traditional iteration of Superman and other DC heroes, it isn’t a foregone conclusion that the latest take on the Man of Steel will be the paragon of virtue that largely eluded Cavill’s rendition. DCU CEO James Gunn has already spoken about focusing on the human element of Superman’s character, bringing his relationship with Lois Lane to the fore while exploring the nuances that come with it. With that in mind, it is hard to see how the new Superman will embody the infallible alien being that Snyder was also attempting to bypass in his version of the character.
Superman: Legacy is the first entry in James Gunn’s much anticipated new DCU, and here is everything we know from cast to story and release date.
Introducing high stakes is important to make this new take on Superman as compelling as possible. Sentry constantly balancing on the precipice of disaster is still something that the DCU’s Superman can emulate. For instance, Clark and Lois’ relationship taking center stage sets up a pretty consequential question to be answered if a villain decides to put Lois in danger or use her as a bargaining tool. Whatever the case, there is plenty of scope for the DCU to introduce a Superman that isn’t as dark as Snyder’s but is no less complex.
‘The First Berserker: Khazan’ is a hardcore Action-RPG based on the Dungeon & Fighter franchise, an ongoing franchise of 18 years with more than 850 Million users worldwide.
Khazan, the Great General of the Pell Los Empire defeats the Berserk Dragon Hismar with his friend the Archmage Ozma, but is betrayed by his jealous Emperor and is exiled. The betrayed hero, Khazan, pledges vengeance upon those who brought him ruin. While looking into the cause of his demise, he finds out that….!
The popular Singapore Comic Con (SGCC) is back with an array of internationally renowned creators and characters.
BBC Studios’ hit family animation “Bluey” is returning to the SGCC main stage and this time she will be joined by her sister Bingo in a new, refreshed “Bluey Live Experience,” which debuted last year. There will be screenings of the “Veranda Santa” and “Dance Mode” episodes, followed by a parent-and-child Bluey dance off competition. Claire Renton, animation director for “Bluey” at Ludo Studio, will also be hosting a lecture at SGCC’s W.I.P (work in progress) Lab for aspiring animators. She will share practical tips on how to get into the animation industry, how to build a portfolio and what it’s like to work on a show. Renton also shares her personal experience working on developing the script and subsequently leading the animation for an episode, the ethos of the show and what makes it so special, as well as spotlighting those areas of production audiences don’t get a chance to see.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be present at SGCC on a recycling mission, to save Singapore from techno trash, by asking punters to donate their used tech devices at the Nickelodeon Singtel booth.
The world of Indonesian comics will be explored via IP developed by Bumilangit, Beyondtopia and Kisai Entertainment. In addition, comic publishers, Asiapac Books, Difference Engine, Epigram Books and CS Comics reveal the unseen challenges and rewards of pursuing comics in Singapore, shed light on how far the island nation’s comics industry has come, and explore the promising horizons for Singaporean comics. Singapore’s Gan Meng Yeow (Sacred Guardians), Darth Ryan Mennen (CS Comics), Aydeel Djoeharie (Sacred Guardians) and Nik Chan (ComXnaut) share their experiences of creating homegrown superheroes, as well as their vision for the future of the genre.
Ben Abernathy, veteran comic book professional and current executive editor at DC Comics speaks with Leslie Lee on the challenges and opportunities facing the comic book industry today. Abernathy and artists Artgerm, Derrick Chew, Alan Quah and Kael Ngu discuss what goes into making some of the most iconic covers in comics today.
A major addition this year is the SGCC new talent showcase. Featured Singaporean talents include Samara Gan, Kang Jing, Wayne Ree, Benjamin Chee, Elvin Ching and Edison Neo.
TikTok’s role as a force in shaping the contemporary landscape of entertainment will be explored in one of the event’s Creators on Stage segments and another session will educate on how to leverage the platform for cosplay.
From Aniplus Asia, there will be a premiere screening of anime series “The Dangers in My Heart.”
SGCC takes place Dec. 9, 10 at Singapore’s Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
The cast and crew of Yorgos Lanthimos‘ Poor Thingsmade their way onto one final red carpet ahead of the film’s theatrical release.
Stars Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Margaret Qualley and Kathryn Hunter, among others, joined Lanthimos and screenwriter Tony McNamara for the New York City premiere of the film on Wednesday night.
Ruffalo expressed that working with Stone, Lanthimos and the rest of the Poor Thingsteam was like a “dream come true for him,” due partially to his character, Duncan Wedderburn.
“He gets to say the most outrageous, foul, really poetic things than probably any man in the last 20 years of cinema and do it with panache and charm and total gracelessness,” the actor told The Hollywood Reporter. “I was really into the idea of doing physical comedy and then working, of course, with Emma and this cast.”
Stone, who portrays Bella Baxter, explained that she couldn’t pinpoint what her favorite part of the film was because she enjoyed every aspect of it and loved her character. She also shared with reporters on the carpet what Lanthimos’ rehearsal processes for Poor Things were, noting they were fun and silly and incorporated lots of theater games.
“We kind of don’t necessarily rehearse in the traditional way,” the Oscar winner said. “It just sort of bonds the cast. We felt really free and not embarrassed around each other, which is huge when you’re doing a lot of this, so I guess it informed Bella in the sense that I felt really great with everybody that I was doing scenes with.”
Dafoe echoed Stone’s sentiment in expressing that every part of the film was the best part. The Lighthouse star portrays the Dr. Frankenstein-esque mad scientist Godwin Baxter who creates Bella, which leads to the two of them having “a very complicated relationship.”
“The best part was the world, the design of the place,” Dafoe shared. “The best part was working with Yorgos. He’s a beautiful director. The best part is working with Tony McNamara’s script. The best part is having the scenes with Emma.”
He shared that there wasn’t much preparation for him to do before production because his character was as complete as could be, so all he did was prepare an accent and watch videotapes of Alasdair Gray, the author of Poor Things, the book the film is based on. Dafoe found the novelist interesting and felt it was helpful to watch him in conversations because there is a lot of him in Godwin.
Tony McNamara, Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Kathryn Hunter, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley and Ramy Youssef
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Lanthimos first read the novel 12 years ago but struggled to get people to back the film. Once they did, however, creating the world for his characters to inhabit became a pleasant process, he shared.
Poor Things reunited the director with Stone after they worked together on The Favourite, for which Stone received a best supporting actress Oscar nomination. The pair also joined forces for the short film Bleat and the upcoming comic anthology And.
“I think we just get along like as people but also had a really good time working together on The Favourite,” Lanthimos said of his and Stone’s continued collaboration. “We just keep getting to know each other better and better, and we just build on that relationship.”
McNamara — who is already receiving awards for his Poor Things script — explained that when he and Lanthimos started thinking about adapting the story, the director suggested making the movie about Bella, instead of having other people tell her story like they do in the book.
After deciding to make Bella their protagonist, McNamara and Lanthimos had to figure out how to create a film that encompassed all the genres they were trying to incorporate: comedy, coming-of-age, satire, sci-fi and fantasy.
“The challenge was how to do that and make it feel organic and kind of like one thing,” the Oscar-nominated screenwriter said, adding that he found it exciting. “It was period, but it was contemporary. You don’t get often a character who changes the way they speak nonstop throughout a movie. So, that was really fun, to kind of work out how to do that and still make it feel like her all the time.”
With Bella at the center of the story, Poor Things is being hailed as a feminist masterpiece. THR‘s chief film critic David Rooney called it “an unconventional reflection on female freedom” in his review.
Hunter, who plays Madame Swiney in the already-award-winning project, appreciates the film asking questions like, “What is a woman? What is a human being? What are the things that we’re born with, and what are the things that we’re capable of?”
She continued, “I love that it’s a female odyssey. It has to be said that most stories are male odysseys, the journey of the male hero. This is such an original take on the odyssey of the female hero. … It asks those incredible questions about what are we? And it kind of punctures our hypocrisies about received truths and how we should live and conventions.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been hit with a number of sexual assault lawsuits recently, leading to the rap mogul releasing a statement in which he denied the accusations and claimed that people are trying to “assassinate” his character and destroy his “legacy” for a “quick payday.” Now, as reported by Variety, 50 Cent has announced that his G-Unit production company is putting together a documentary (possibly for Billboard) about the allegations against Combs, and that the proceeds from it will be going to “victims of sexual assault and rape.”
Ed Sheeran has a story about getting high with Snoop Dogg
On Twitter, 50 Cent shared a clip from the documentary that featured former Bad Boy Records rapper Mark Curry talking about going to parties where Combs would allegedly set aside special bottles of champagne that had been spiked specifically for women to drink from, adding that the women did not know they were being drugged and that they became “slippery” after drinking. No other details about the documentary have been announced—but the end of the clip does make it explicitly clear that 50 Cent is executive producing it, so it’s clear that he wants everyone to know that.
You can see the preview clip that 50 Cent shared on Twitter right here:
The allegations against Combs include, most recently, that he transported a 17-year-old across state lines in 2003, gave her “copious amounts of drugs and alcohol” and raped her. Multiple other women have accused Combs of raping them, going back to the early ‘90s, and he recently settled a lawsuit from former partner Cassie after she accused him of abuse as well. As mentioned above, Combs has denied these allegations, specifically saying: “I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family, and for the truth.”
Here is a wrap-up of all the news you need to know from Thursday, December 12, 2023.
Netflix has shared the official trailer for The Brothers Sun, its upcoming drama series from Brad Falchuk and Byron Wu.
“When the head of a powerful Taiwanese triad is shot by a mysterious assassin, his eldest son, legendary killer Charles ‘Chairleg’ Sun (Justin Chien) heads to Los Angeles to protect his mother, Eileen (Michelle Yeoh), and his naive younger brother, Bruce (Sam Song Li) — who’s been completely sheltered from the truth of his family until now,” the logline teases.
“But as Taipei’s deadliest societies and a new rising faction go head-to-head for dominance — Charles, Bruce and their mother must heal the wounds caused by their separation and figure out what brotherhood and family truly mean before one of their countless enemies kills them all.
The trailer takes us into the world of the action-packed comedy, and as any other project with Michelle Yeoh can attest, it’s pretty great.
The rest of the regular cast includes Justin Chien (Charles), Sam Song Li (Bruce Sun), Highdee Kuan (Alexis), and Joon Lee (TK).
The recurring cast includes Johnny Kou (Big Sun), Alice Hewkin (May/June), Jon Xue Zhang (Blood Boots), Jenny Yang (Xing), Madison Hu (Grace), and Rodney To (Mark).
Check out the promo below. Don’t forget to watch The Brothers Sun when it debuts on January 4, 2024.
Also at Netflix on this fine Thursday, we have some casting scoop.
The streaming service has revealed that Ray Romano is the first cast member for No Good Deed, the forthcoming comedy series by Dead to Me creator Liz Feldman.
“No Good Deed is a half-hour, dark comedy that follows three very different families vying to buy the very same 1920s Spanish style villa that they think will solve all their problems,” the description teases.
“But as the sellers have already discovered, sometimes the home of your dreams can be a total nightmare.”
Romano is set to play Paul Morgan.
“Constantly stressed and flat broke, Paul is a contractor desperate to retire, pay off his debts and escape LA,” the character description teases.
“He thinks selling his beautiful Los Feliz home is the solution to all his and his wife Lydia’s problems, but his past mistakes will continue to haunt him.”
Dead to Me was one of the finest shows on Netflix during its three-year run, so hopefully, Feldman’s follow-up will reach that level.
In other Netflix casting news, Unstable Season 2 has confirmed some new faces.
Lamorne Morris (Fargo, Woke) will play recurring guest star Peter.
The charismatic founder of a biotech start-up, Peter’s rising star manages to stoke the already intense rivalry between Ellis (Rob Lowe) and Jackson (John Owen Lowe).
Iris Apatow (The Bubble, Vodka, Young Werther) will play recurring guest star Georgia, Anna’s (Sian Clifford) irreverent ex-stepdaughter turned unwilling Dragon intern.
She copes with office life by stirring up trouble and making Anna’s life more difficult whenever possible.
The series will also bring back Fred Armisen, TV Fanatic has confirmed.
He will be back as a guest star for the second season of the Rob and John Owen Lowe comedy series, which recently scored a pickup.
Production is underway ahead of a 2024 launch.
Over in the world of AMC Networks, Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale has conjured up a premiere date.
Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale is set in a contemporary world where witchcraft is real. It takes place in the idyllic English town of Sanctuary, where for hundreds of years witches have lived peacefully, as valued members of society.
Until now… At the heart of the story is Sarah Fenn (Elaine Cassidy), Sanctuary’s resident witch, on whom the town relies to solve their problems when conventional remedies have failed.
When local teen rugby star, Dan Whithall, dies tragically in an apparent accident, his death exposes a terrifying undercurrent of suspicion and fear towards Sarah and her teenage daughter, Harper (Hazel Doupe).
Mother of the deceased, Abigail (Amy de Bhrun), once Sarah’s closest friend, is wracked with grief, and to avenge her son’s death, launches a modern-day witch-hunt to get “justice,” no matter what the cost.
Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale stars Cassidy, Doupe, and de Bhrun, along with Stephanie Levi-John, Valerie O’Connor, Kelly Campbell, and Stephen Lord. The series is executive produced by Monumental Television (Mrs Sidhu Investigates, Harlots) and is directed by Lisa Mulcahy and Justin Molotnikov.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
With The Morning Show named today as one of the AFI Awards’ 2023 honorees for television program of the year, the question arises, how will the Apple TV+ show possibly up the ante for Season 4?
Will Bradley be in jail ? Will Alex be running everything? And will Cory finally give up and go home to his mom to sing another round of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”? With the FBI, a company merger, and a sociopathic businessman (Jon Hamm) in the mix at the close of Season 3, it seems there’s everything to play for next season.
“Everybody keeps asking me if Bradley’s in jail,” Reese Witherspoon said during a press conference moderated by Deadline on Thursday, “but I don’t know if I’m in trouble.”
“But you’ve tried on jumpsuits, right?” executive producer Michael Ellenberg said.
During last season, Witherspoon (who also serves as EP on the show) saw her character Bradley Jackson quit her job and face law enforcement over her handling of her brother’s involvement in Jan 6. So, she may indeed be wearing that jumpsuit come next season.
“I think so many people can relate to the idea that you have a family history that maybe isn’t flattering or that you’re embarrassed about, or there’s a family member in your life that’s trying to actively drag you down,” Witherspoon said. “So, it was just really tender to play this woman who wanted so badly to succeed and excel, being pulled back down by the heavy weight of family obligations and her isolation.”
Witherspoon also noted that while Bradley’s mother has passed away her father is still very much alive. Would she want to bring his character back?
“I loved David Morse, the actor who played my dad in the first season,” she said. “He’s one of my favorite actors of all time. So, I hope he comes back. It was such an honor to get to do some scenes with him. He’s just so wonderful.”
Aniston, who is also an EP, said going forward, she is interested to see how her character Alex Levy will navigate the company merger she incited last season.
“It’s watching this big move that Alex made at the end of Season 3 and how’s that working out for you? That position and that huge merge happening, and to see how gracefully that she walks through that.”
Witherspoon confessed she is “kind of a nerd” and was also very interested to see how the merger turns out, but also that real-life current events will influence the show just as they have in previous seasons.
“The thing I like about our show is that they pivot based on what they see happening in the world,” she said, so there is already so much to address in the time span when we start again. But there will be so much more. I mean it’s an ever-evolving media landscape.”
Asked if she’d heard Showrunner Charlotte Stoudt’s comments to Deadline last month about examining Alex and Chip (Mark Duplass)’s backstory next season, Aniston said, “It would be interesting to see the origin story of that. Yes, I think that’s one of the things we might’ve heard.”
For Karen Pittman, the evolution of her character Mia Jordan bodes well for a compelling future too.
“It was really important to open the aperture of who Mia Jordan is,” Pittman said. “We had seen her for two seasons in work mode as we’ve seen a lot of the women on the show, but there was a deeper emotional landscape to who Mia Jordan is, and I really wanted to explore that… So seeing Mia laugh and dance and dress and hop in the bed with a guy was all part of that.”
Pittman also credited the writers and showrunner Stoudt for their handling of what Mia went through in reporting on the murder of George Floyd last season.
“Mia, as an African American female executive producer, has to watch the George Floyd murder and has to talk about it with Andre Ford [her boyfriend],” Pittman said. “And along with all the things that happened on The Morning Show, I really believed that that murder during the pandemic may have been the most newsworthy event outside of the pandemic. I really felt like there’s something to explore in sharing that moment with our audience—what a news person authentically would go through after having to view something like that over and over and over again.”
However, as Ellenberg said “it’s too early” for Season 4 solid facts just yet.
He added, “The best thing about working on the show is when you watch it, even the dailies, but particularly when you start watching the cuts and you’re working on them, even in the rough stage, you always become the audience almost every single time and you’re like, ‘Wait, really? That’s what happened?’”
The first trailer for Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the new Prime Video series starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine, is out now. Scroll down to watch the trailer, in which the duo operate undercover as a married couple working for a mysterious spy agency. The show, a reboot of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s 2005 action film, premieres on February 2, 2024. Glover created the series with the Atlanta writer Francesca Sloane.
AWARD THIS 2023 NOMINEE! The Breach is set in a small town wherein Sheriff John (Allan Hawco) is preparing to leave for a job in the big city. Yes, apparently, even in the 21st century, screenwriters Nick Cutter and Ian Weir decide to trot that tired cliche out. But, before he moves on and out, a corpse whose insides are shredded is discovered. This is where director Rodrigo Gudiño shows his skills, as he handles the ensuing mystery and horror brilliantly, even when the script is slightly underbaked.
The corpse is found to be renowned physicist Cole Parsons (Adam Kenneth Wilson), who was leasing a cabin in the woods nearby. Cole hired Meg (Emily Alatalo) to be his guide, so she, along with coroner Jacob (Wesley French), for some unknown purpose. And who should show up as they investigate what led to Cole’s demise? None other than Cole himself. How is he alive, and why is his wife, Linda (Natalie Brown), also stalking about the cabin?
The threadbare plot of The Breach is really not that new. It’s a cabin in the woods tale mixed with From Beyond or The Resonator: Miskatonic U. But that’s not a bad thing, as it is all about the execution and Gudiño delivers in spades. Yes, there are cliches within the screenplay, and character motivations aren’t the deepest, but none of that matters. The director keeps the pace moving smoothly while ensuring audiences feel every creepy turn once the nightmare begins.
“…who should show up as they investigate what led to Cole’s demise? None other than Cole…”
To that end, special effects make-up artists Daniel Baker and Chris Cooper bring their A-game to the creature designs. I don’t know what the budget for the film was, but no matter that number, the make-up artists and director of photography, Eric Oh, ensure the picture looks incredible from start to finish. The lighting, especially as the story swerves into the more eerie aspects, is stunning, accentuating the melancholic and frightening vibes.
Also helping The Breach reach maximum levels of scary is the cast. Hawco is quite good as the frustrated cop, while Alatalo makes Meg more than just a put-upon ex. French allows himself to be hatable, while Brown is absolutely sympathetic as the grieving (?) wife. Wilson plays Cole as calm and confused, which helps further the mystery.
Does The Breach rely on some cliches and broad archetypes? Yes. But, the make-up effects are so gnarly and gruesome and the horror genuinely creepy that it hardly matters. Add to that the impressive cinematography and excellent acting, and one is left with a creepy, fun little flick.
The Breachis a 2023 Award This! Indie Sci-Fi nominee.
Julianne Hough asked for prayers following news that her new sister-in-law, Hayley Erbert, 29, had an emergency craniectomy. “Please pray and send all your love, healing and light to Hayley and Derek,” Julianne wrote via Instagram Stories on December 7, along with a praying hands emoji. “Thank you from the depths of our families hearts!” She finished the somber post with a red heart emoji. Julianne’s heartfelt plea was captioned on a screenshot of her brother Derek Hough‘s announcement that his new wife had been hospitalized on Thursday.
“At the end of last night’s tout performance in Washington, D.C., my wife Hayley became disoriented and was taken to the hospital,” the Dancing with the Stars judge wrote via Instagram. “She was diagnosed with a cranial hematoma from a burst blood vessel and required an emergency craniectomy. She is in stable condition. I want to thank the first responders and medical personnel who have cared for and continue to care for her. I ask for your prayers and positivity during this time.”
Derek, 38, and Hayley married in a lavish forest ceremony in Carmel, California on August 26. Their friends and family, including Derek’s little sister Julianne, 35, were present for the happy occasion.
By all accounts, the Houghs are a tight clan. Derek and Julianne, who have both starred on and served as judges for DWTS, are especially close. And Julianne has fully embraced her new sister-in-law. On August 29, following the gorgeous wedding celebration, the Footloose star took to the comments of an Instagram post to call Hayley her “sissy.”
“The most breathtaking weekend filled with so much love and laughter,” Julianne wrote in the sweet comment in reaction to a post featuring Derek and Hayley’s gorgeous wedding photos. “I love you both so much,” she continued with a double heart emoji, “love your sissy.”
The streaming platform picked up the Anthony Mackie-led video game adaptation for Season 2, the star and executive producer announced Thursday at The Game Awards, hosted at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
“I have to give a Sweet Tooth-sized thank you to our incredible fans — I read every comment and was so blown away by everyone’s love, support and rabid enthusiasm for a paper bag,” showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith said in a statement. “We are beyond thankful we get to continue the story of John Doe, Quiet and Sweet Tooth as they face off against familiar faces and new grim foes in the long-awaited Twisted Metal tournament. The mixtape is made, and I’m thrilled to get back on the road with our stellar cast and crew.”
The half-hour action comedy series premiered on July 27 and ranks as one of Peacock’s top three original series, according to the streamer. Based on the classic PlayStation game series, “Twisted Metal” is based on an original take by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (“Deadpool,” “Zombieland”) and written by Smith.
The first season followed John Doe (Mackie), an outsider offered the chance for a better life, after he successfully delivers a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Along with Mackie, the series stars Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Seanoa, Will Arnett and Thomas Haden Church.
“Twisted Metal” comes from Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group. It’s executive produced by Rees, Wernick, Arnett and Marc Forman (Electric Avenue), Jason Spire (Inspire Entertainment), Peter Principato (Artists First), Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan from PlayStation Productions and Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios.
Netflix released an action-packed trailer for The Brothers Sun ahead of its Season 1 premiere on January 4 (above).
From Brad Falchuk and Byron Wu, the series follows the legendary killer Charles “Chairleg” Sun (Chien), who heads to Los Angeles to protect his mother, Eileen (Yeoh) and younger brother, Bruce (Sam Song Li) following the murder of his father, the head of a powerful Taiwanese triad. Bruce has been completely sheltered from the truth of his family until his infamous and respected sibling shows up on his doorstep throwing him into a world he is vastly unprepared for.
But as Taipei’s deadliest societies and a new rising faction go head-to-head for dominance — Charles, Bruce and their mother must heal the wounds caused by their separation and figure out what brotherhood and family truly mean before one of their countless enemies kills them all.
Highdee Kuan, Joon Lee, Alice Hewkin, Jon Xue Zhang, Jenny Yang, Madison Hu and Rodney To also star.
The series is directed by Kevin Tancharoen who also executive produces alongside Mikkel Bondesen, showrunner Falchuk and writer Wu.
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission.
Not quite jewelry, not quite tools in the age of smartphones, watches are weird. And that’s why we love them. The best watches for women deliver grown-up style that can pull together any outfit (not to mention start conversations).
If you’re currently pondering a new watch, you’re in luck: The watch world — like so many industries — is having an awakening around gender. Previously, women in search of a good timepiece had two options: They could dig through a meager supply of sparkly, dainty, second-rate watches in the ladies section, or they could try to find a men’s watch that didn’t look clownishly large. But that’s changing. Today, the best watches for women are just as good-looking and well-made as their men’s counterparts — if you know where to look.
Still, with so many brands, styles and specifications, shopping for women’s watches can seem like a lot of work. To help make the process a little easier, we’ve rounded up some of the best watches for women to pick up right now.
What to Know Before Buying a Women’s Watch Online
Watch storefronts are great, but web stores now offer more inventory and better deals on certified-authentic timepieces than physical stores. While perusing the best watches for women online, here are a few key specifications to keep in mind.
Style: Build quality and accuracy are important, but they don’t matter if you think a watch is ugly. Before picking up a new timepiece, consider your personal style and how you’ll typically wear a watch (say, to the office, while traveling, on dates or maybe everywhere). Then, pick a watch that’s suited to your personal style.
Size: As the main differentiator between men’s and women’s watches, size makes a difference. The key measurement is case diameter, which, for women’s watches, usually ranges from about 26 to 36 millimeters. Larger ladies’ watches have been trending recently, although we also love the vintage sixties/nineties look of a petite face.
Editor’s picks
Brand: Certain watch brands (and brand nationalities) indicate craftsmanship and a history of premium build quality. Plus, some high-end brands have proven that their watches value after purchase (for example, many Rolex models either hold their value or even appreciate over time). Therefore, the best watches for women usually come from well-known watchmakers.
Movement: A watch’s movement is its internal system that keeps time. Watch movements come in three varieties: mechanical, automatic and quartz.
Mechanical watches don’t require any kind of charging, but they need to be hand-wound every day or every other day. Automatic movements are similar to mechanical but, instead of hand-winding, they harness the kinetic energy of the wearer’s wrist movement to “charge” themselves. (However, if left stationary, automatic watches will run out of power and need resetting.) Quartz watches use a small battery that needs to be replaced every two years or so, but, while the battery is alive, the best Quartz watches are very accurate.
Water-resistance: Between rain, swimming, showers and splashes from the sink, your watch is likely to get wet at some point. However, a watch’s water-resistance rating can be misleading. If a watch is rated at 30 meters water resistance, it shouldn’t get wet at all. If it’s rated for depths of 50 meters or more, then the watch is safe for swimming or showering. Anything rated as water-resistant over 99 meters is ready for real diving.
The Best Watches for Women
Whether you’re looking to invest in an heirloom-worthy timepiece, bring tech to your wrist or spruce up daily outfits, there’s a great watch to make it happen. Below are some of the best watches for women that you can order online right now.
Related Stories
1. Cartier Tank Francaise
Jomashop
Few watches have the understated class of a Cartier Tank. A favorite of Michelle Obama, Jackie Kennedy and Princess Diana, the Swiss-made, French-designed timepiece is marked by a square case and crisp lines. It comes in a range of material options, including the old-school gold with a brown leather strap combo, but we’re big fans of this silver Francaise. Thanks to its unique look, the Francaise can be paired with everything from jeans and a tee to your fanciest getup, evoking vintage-inspired charm with contemporary cool.
2. Longines Mini DolceVita
Longines
The Mini DolceVita from luxury Swiss watchmaker Longines, bears a similarly-shaped dial, but the stunning timepiece was actually inspired by a rectangular Longines watch first released in 1927. Longines excels at quiet luxury and the company’s dedication to perfecting the details of watchmaking are on full display here, from the refined lines and contours of the dial to the steel blue hands and stainless steel bracelet (the watch comes in different colors and strap configurations too).
We like the so-called “Cosmo” circular dial inside the rectangular case, which adds visual intrigue and contrast. This is a watch that conjures elegance and class no matter how you wear it — or where you wear it to. Further proof of the Mini DolceVita’s versatility (and star power)? Jennifer Lawrence was just unveiled as Longines’ newest ambassador, starring in a new campaign video that shows the A-list star wearing her Mini DolceVita watch from day to night. As Longines CEO Matthias Breschan declared at the launch event for Lawrence’s campaign, “These stunning jewel watches are not only built on a rich heritage, they are also contemporary models for dynamic, spirited women such as our guests of honor tonight.”
3. Casio LA11WB-1 Sport Watch
Amazon
Seen on everyone from Kristen Stewart to Bill Gates to Serena Williams, Casio watches hold a special place in the hearts of watch enthusiasts and this LA11WB-1 model earns its place on our list thanks to its genre and generation-defying aesthetic.
The sporty watch is a great example with Casio’s throwback eighties vibe, a bang-on Japanese quartz movement and ribbed black resin wristband. Rock the watch with bold date night outfits (maybe a blazer and jeans) or wear it every day while traveling. All the features you grew up loving about a Casio are here too, from the stopwatch to the perpetual calendar. It’s water-resistant up to 100 feet too if you want to swap out your fitness bands for something a little more stylish.
4. Rolex Datejust Pink Dial Oyster Watch
Jomashop
Rolex is the most recognized name in luxury watchmaking for a reason. The storied brand’s pieces are timelessly elegant and incredibly robust, translating to watches that keep ticking and looking good for generations. Right now, we think this pink dial Oyster is one of Rolex’s best picks for women. It’s minimally styled, and the watch’s pale pink dial introduces a tasteful dash of femininity. The movement — a Rolex Calibre 2236 automatic — charges itself while on your wrist.
While Rolex watches are among the most expensive picks on this list, they also hold their value incredibly well, making the Datejust — and any Rolex watch really — a true investment pieces for years to come.
5. Seiko SWR054
Jomashop
Can’t swing a fancy Swiss watch? Seiko has you covered. This SWR054 brings throwback dress watch style at a very attainable price point. The watch boasts a gold-tone stainless steel case, a white face and vintage Roman numeral hour markers. Inside you’ll find Seiko’s highly-accurate Japanese quartz movement, and, surprisingly for a dress watch, this one boasts 50 meters water resistance (meaning it’s safe to bring in the shower or wear while swimming).
We love the way the leather band will patina over time, getting softer with each wear while achieving that desirable “worn in” quality. The gold-colored case adds a touch of luxury without going over the top.
6. Hermes Heure H Quartz White Dial
Jomashop
Clothing brands sometimes struggle to produce great watches. But not Hermes. Since the 1930s, the French label has been making elegant watches that straddle jewelry and time-keeping for something unique. The double wrap design, seen here in the Heure H watch, is one of the signature details you’ll see on Hermes watches. Plus, most of the components are actually crafted by a Swiss company, Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, ensuring a high level of quality and accuracy.
The watch is in keeping with Hermes’ equestrian-inspired aesthetic, though it works as beautifully out of the field and at the office (or gala) as well.
7. Breda Revel
Amazon
Based out of Dallas, Texas, Breda has made a name for itself by tapping into our nostalgic side. The brand’s watches, such as this Revel, evoke mid-century cocktail parties and Mad Men office looks. The Revel measures a petite 14 by 18 millimeters, and its green hands complement the gold-tone case, bracelet and face. Better still, the watch keeps time with a reliable Japanese quartz movement from Seiko.
8. Timex Indiglo Easy Reader
Amazon
If you’re looking to nail a Nineties aesthetic, check out this Timex Easy Reader. The no-frills watch features a silver-tone 25-millimeter brass case and a delicate black leather strap. Together, these straightforward design notes make it one of the most wearable, casual watches you can get.
Timex makes a number of other models that we recommend, from their best-selling field and fitness watches to a limited-edition Pan-Am collection that launched over the summer. These are watches that are as versatile as they are stylish, and an easy pickup online.
9. Apple Watch Series 8
We love old-school analog watches, but smartwatches deserve a spot in everyone’s watch box. The best-selling watch in the world, the Apple Watch needs no introduction. With GPS and cellular, the newest Series 8 can do almost everything your iPhone can — as well as track health data like sleep, heart rate and blood oxygen levels. Plus, thanks to its customizable display, sleek case and ample color option, the new Apple Watch looks pretty great too.
10. Tissot Everytime Desire Dress Watch
Amazon
Tissot has over 160 years of expertise — far more than most budget-friendly watch brands. This Everytime Desire dress watch is a great choice from the celebrated Swiss brand, delivering an eye-catching stainless steel bracelet and minimal face. As the name suggests, the Everytime’s low-key, timeless style can really work with every outfit.
In our opinion, Tissot is one of the most underrated women’s watch brands out there and worth considering if you’re looking for a decent watch in the under $500 range.
11. Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classic Medium Duetto
Jomashop
For something truly spectacular and eye-watching, consider upgrading to a Jaeger. One of the most prestigious watchmakers in the world, Jaeger-LeCoultre is an excellent source for classic, ultra-premium timepieces. The Reverso is one of the brand’s best-selling models, seen here in silver with a white dial and a black leather strap. It’s at home in board rooms and ballrooms, but we think the watch looks great with casual attire too.
Trending
12. Michael Kors Slim Runway Women’s Watch
Amazon
Michael Kors watches have long been a popular pick for women, but they often get a bad rap for being ostentatious and overly branded. That’s why we’re partial to this Michael Kors Runway Watch, which features a slim profile and minimalist design in a chic, rose gold colorway.
The watch itself is well-made, with a scratch-resistant mineral crystal glass and genuine Quartz movement. The textured links on the stainless steel bracelet are a perfect contrast to the smooth finish around the stainless steel case, and we like the slender hands on the dial. This is a great everyday watch that can be dressed up or down, depending on the occasion. Even better: as of this writing, it’s under $100.
Disha Patani channelled her inner Barbie at a recent event. (Pic: Viral Bhayani)
Disha Patani fails to impress social media users despite opting for a sexy pink dress for an event.
Disha Patani did not impress the internet with recent look. The actress stepped out on Thursday night to attend an event. The MS Dhoni star was spotted at a star-studded event wearing a short off-shoulder pink dress. The outfit featured a couple of heart shaped cut outs on the torso and long sleeves. While Disha pulled out the outfit, netizens noticed a couple of misses in the outfit which resulted in her getting trolled.
A social media user pointed out that the dress was hemmed badly. “The dress is folded up and hemmed by hand lol seriously why??? As a designer I feel it cud be finished better! This look like a long jeans that’s folded up! As a fashion icon she is – I wud expect better,” read the comment. Another believed that Disha was uncomfortable in her dress. “If you are not comfortable in a dress ..why do you wear it?” they another.
A few also confessed they did not like her choice of outfit. “Dressing up like a kid,” a comment read.
Check out the video below:
On the work front, it is reported that Disha is set to reunite with Tiger Shroff. Filmmaker Jagan Shakti earlier confirmed to ETimes that the duo would be starring in his upcoming film, Hero No 1. Initially, Sara Ali Khan was cast for the role but the actress opted out of the project due to scheduling conflict. “Disha is the fittest and apt to do action. Sara was definitely a part of it, but unfortunately, we couldn’t match the date,” Jagan said. Disha also has Yodha opposite Sidharth Malhotra. She also has Kalki 2898 AD with Prabhas, Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan.
It was also reported that Disha was initially slated to star in Karna opposite actor Suriya but has been dropped from the film. The decision has stirred intrigue within the industry, prompting speculation about the reasons behind this sudden change.
With close to 10 years of experience, Dishya has entertainment running in the blood. Her love for Bollywood, Hollywood, and Korean film industries has…Read More
Ahead is a list of every superhero confirmed to be part of the cast of Captain America 4, although more could be confirmed before the sequel hits theaters on February 14, 2025.
This will be Mackie’s second live-action appearance in the Multiverse Saga as he learns the responsibilities of being one of the leading Avengers.
Even though plot details for the movie remain under wraps, it has been revealed Mackie will don another brand-new suit as he takes on more of a figurehead-like role in the MCU.
Torres was last seen taking possession of Sam Wilson’s damaged Falcon wings in the hit streaming series, with him confirmed to take over Sam’s role as the Falcon now that Sam is Captain America.
Ramirez will also get his own new suit now that he’s taking on a new superheo moniker, although nothing is set in stone about whether he’ll get involved with Super Soldier Serum or gain any new powers.
Isaiah Bradley
Carl Lumbly
First seen on screen in Episode 2 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Isaiah Bradley will make his theatrical MCU debut in Captain America 4 with Carl Lumbly returning to his role.
Isaiah was last seen visiting a new statue dedicated to his service at the Smithsonian with Sam, honoring his work in the Cold War after becoming one of the earliest Super Soldiers in the United States Army.
While his role in Captain America 4 still isn’t exactly clear, he and his grandson Eli are sure to strengthen their relationship with Sam, and Isaiah will likely serve as a source of emotional support for Sam with his new duties as Captain America.
Sabra
Shira Haas
The newest MCU hero coming to the forefront in Captain America 4is Shira Haas’ Sabra, who will also become Marvel Studios’ first-ever Israeli superhero.
Unfortunately, Sabra is entangled in some deep controversy due to her ties to the Israeli government and its special operations agency, Mossad, which is an even most-potent issue these days due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Her role in the movie is still a mystery, despite set photos showing Haas on set in costume. But her inclusion alone is sure to give Marvel some challenges in the public eye when the sequel’s release gets closer.
Her background as a mutant will also further open the door to new kinds of powers in the MCU, although her specific powers aren’t confirmed yet.
Captain America: Brave New World will debut in theaters on February 14, 2025.
Zack Snyder has spoken with James Gunn about the future of the DCU, showing support for Gunn’s role in building a new franchise.
Snyder’s legacy lives on as fans continue to celebrate his vision of DC Comics characters and the success of the release of his version of Justice League.
Snyder has turned the page and wants the new DCU to be successful, marking a break in his career after the experience with Justice League.
Zack Snyder confirms that he has spoken with James Gunn about the future of the DCU, wishing him luck in the challenge of building a film and television universe along with Warner Bros. Discovery. After the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the Snyderverse and the past DCEU canon will have officially ended to make way for a new franchise with Gunn and Peter Safran as the main leaders. But Snyder’s legacy lives on, especially in debates on social media, where his fans continue to celebrate his vision of the DC Comics characters, the actors he chose to play them, and the stories he developed. And, while he is very grateful for the love of the fans, and the support received for the release of his version of Justice League in Max, he has already turned the page and wants the new DCU to be successful.
In an article published by The Hollywood Reporter, Snyder shared details about his conversation with Gunn after being named co-CEO of DC Studios:
“I called him and said I wish all the best for him. I told him I wanted it to work.”
Snyder and Gunn have worked together in the past, as the Guardians of the Galaxy director wrote the script for 2004’s Dawn of the Dead, a remake of George A. Romero’s 1978 film that was helmed by Snyder. The Batman v Superman director later executive produced The Suicide Squad, Gunn’s first film for DC.
Like the Snyderverse, which began with the release of Man of Steel in 2013, Gunn’s franchise will officially kick off on the big screen with Superman: Legacy, starring David Corenswet as the iconic superhero.
Zack Snyder Recalls the Moment He Decided to Walk Away From Superhero Films
The story of Snyder, Warner and the DCEU is long and complicated, full of rumors, sudden changes in the movies the long-term plan of the franchise, problems with other directors, box office hits and severe criticism of some of the films. But there is no doubt that the critical point was reached with Justice League, a project that at the time Snyder could not finish due to a family tragedy and which was finished by Joss Whedon.
Years later, the original director was able to show his version of the story, which was a hit on the company’s streaming platform. In a conversation with Wired, Snyder recalled that dark moment in his life and how Justice League marked a before and after in his career:
“I think it might have been the studio, but also it was the work itself. Where I was with the project, and my relationship with the studio, that experience offered me nothing. Any kind of healing was impossible, and so therefore I had no interest in continuing with it. That was a real break for me. You live under this illusion that your art, and the way you express yourself, is a kind of therapy that you can always rely on. And then when the rubber hits the road, you’re like, oh, no, it’s not helpful at all.”
Zack Snyder will next return to franchise filmmaking with Rebel Moon. Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire is scheduled for a limited theatrical release on December 15, 2023, before its streaming debut on December 22, 2023, by Netflix. A sequel, Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, is set to be released on April 19, 2024. Check out the trailer for Rebel Moon below:
Set for release on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on December 5, it will introduce “some of the most-requested features” including a metro system, portable radio player, repeatable car races, hangouts with romantic interests, and improved boss fights.
Notice: To display this embed please allow the use of Functional Cookies in Cookie Preferences.
Update 2.1 will launch alongside Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition. A summary of the update’s new features follows, via CD Projekt. You can read the full patch notes here.
Update 2.1 new features:
V’s issue with their NCART City Pass is resolved and they can now travel between the 19 metro stations located throughout Night City on 5 different lines via fast travel or riding the train itself while gazing out the window and watching the world go by.
V will now be able to invite their love interest to spend some time together in any of the apartments. Hangouts are a repeatable, unlimited event that become available once the romance path with a given character has concluded.
You can now listen to the radio while on foot (or while riding the NCART train) using the new Radioport feature. Available while you explore, it switches seamlessly to car radio whenever you get in a vehicle and turns off when quest-specific music starts playing. It is now also possible to adjust the volume directly in the radio window.
Added replayable car races V can take part in after finishing The Beast in Me. Look for race flag icons on the map and win the races to get eddies and a discount for the Autofixer website. Additionally, we improved the racers’ AI to make them more competitive and made enhancements so that the whole experience is much more fun!
Sightseeing binoculars in various scenic spots have been added as another way to appreciate Night City’s vistas.
Cyberpunk 2077 was billed as one of the biggest titles of the last console generation, but things went badly wrong for it at release.
Imagine you’re given a script containing a dialogue between two men that’s communicated through handwritten letters sent in the mail. The letters are penned in the script as VO but with very few stage directions or scene descriptions to match.
What we know: one man (a man of strong faith and God) heard the other man (the scientist) speak to a group of college kids about a subject that interested him. That man (of God) was so taken with the lecturer and his views that he shared his compliments and curiosities with the scientist by way of a handwritten letter. Flattered and intrigued, the scientist wrote back. Thus began a lengthy and powerful conversation between two intellectuals.
The director and I were tasked with portraying these interactions as a montage of their individual stories playing out alongside one another making their two separate worlds come to life.
Lessons in Chemistry, an Apple TV+ show, based on the NY Times best-selling novel by Bonnie Garmus, tells the life story of Elizabeth Zott (played by Brie Larson). As a woman living in the 1950s, Zott’s dream of becoming a scientist in a man’s world is challenged by a society that thinks a woman belongs solely in a domestic sphere.
Lessons in Chemistry — Official Trailer | Apple TV+www.youtube.com
Elizabeth is employed as a Lab Tech at Hastings Laboratory where she becomes paired with a Nobel Prize-nominated scientist, Calvin Evans (played by Lewis Pullman). Evans quickly realizes that Elizabeth is unlike any woman he’s ever met—she’s fiercely independent, wildly intelligent, hyper-analytical, and no BS. She was just like him.
While the show as a whole is structured around Elizabeth’s life in a linear fashion, the penultimate episode of the series (107) takes us back to the origin of Calvin Evans and continues to shed light on his side of the love story between Elizabeth and him.
Once we arrive at 1948 Calvin Evans, we get our first glance at Rev. Wakely a.k.a. the man of God (played by Patrick Walker) as he attends Calvin’s lecture at Harvard. Wakely felt so inspired and courageous enough to question Calvin’s scientific theories with his own ideas of God and how they might fit into Calvin’s world. So, he felt compelled to share his thoughts with Calvin. Intrigued, Calvin reciprocated leading to the interactions that we see and hear through VO.
These men seem to open up their minds to each other’s beliefs and worldviews. Their unlikely friendship grew as they challenged one another on various theories and understandings. They discussed family, friendship, and love. It was such a poignant display of respect and affection that they gained for one another.
Tara Miele, our director of episode 107, and I were both moved by this bond between the two men. The correspondence was so poetic and their descriptive language to each other felt so cinematic. We had to give these vignettes the photographic direction they deserved.
PREP
Tara and I discussed each interaction and broke down the emotional state as we would do with any other scene work. Whose POV is in the scene and what is the intention of the voice-over? We would then talk about the environments these men would be situated in and what their actions could be while the voice-over is recited. We found crossover with their words that created metaphoric meaning in the other man’s world. We pieced together a plan with a list of shots and locations desired for these shots.
Tara and I were shooting both episodes 107 and 108 together. Throughout our 20-day schedule, we would toggle between day-to-day shooting work in both episodes. We submitted a list of what our intentions were with how we wanted to shoot the letters as well as a list of ideal locations we felt they could take place in. Our ideas became puzzle pieces for our 1st AD (Katie Carroll); what could be paired with what to make the schedule work. This would also involve our location manager (Jesse Lorber) as he would work directly with us as well as our AD to find locations that were feasible for each idea and scenario on the same day. Taking into account that our show is set in the 1950s added even more challenges. Some conversations would have to involve our production designer (Cat Smith) in order to create the ideal sets for these scenes. We would give Cat an idea of what might be happening in Wakely’s world and see if it would line up with what she was already building. Did we need to change anything on our end or vice versa?
In general, a montage described in a script could be as short as 1/8 of that page. However, the work and the planning that goes into what needs to be shot and how involved that montage is, could take much more time than expected on set.
‘Lessons in Chemistry’ behind the scenes Apple
Below is an early example of how Tara and I used metaphoric imagery to portray the communication between the two men:
With Wakely in his study still captivated by the lecture he just witnessed, he felt compelled to sit down and write Calvin Evans a letter. We cut to a close-up of a delivery cart carrying our hero letter alongside a handful of others addressed to the people of Hastings. We then cut to Calvin at his home settled in with a whiskey as he reads Wakely’s letter while it’s simultaneously being recited to us in VO. It was meant to feel fluid like a dance.
Wakely states that “he is overlooking the mysteries of the divine” and “what if ‘HE’ is the spontaneous generation?” Tara and I thought it could be compelling to cut to a God-like high angle that’s slightly behind Calvin as he runs down the street. With another cut, the camera is now in front of him remaining high as we gradually crane down and tilt up to his eye level as he runs past the camera. We liked the action of Calvin running while deep in thought as if he’s listening to Wakely’s divine words. Creating height with our lens mirrored the words of Wakely’s state of higher being.
The script simply read that Wakely’s voice-over began as Calvin sits down in his study to read his letter. We’re then told that Calvin runs to work. There was a lot of room for us to play with ideas for what the best shots would be to elevate the visual language of this dialogue.
I love how filmmaking always creates challenges in the approach. Through prep, shot listing, blocking, and the execution of a scene, I am always thinking about the creative process while figuring out how to achieve this process with the tools and schedule at hand. Putting the puzzle pieces together is one of the many loves I have as a cinematographer. This episode was truly a fantastic challenge and I hope it shows on screen.
I’m so proud of our work on this episode as well as the rest of the show. It takes a village and everyone brought their A-game while making our visions come to life!
Kodak Black has run afoul of the law once again, being arrested in Florida on charges of cocaine possession, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, and improperly stopping or parking a vehicle.
The 26-year-old rapper (real name Bill Kapri), was booked into a county jail in Plantation, FL.
He also received a traffic violation for obstructing the road. The arrest occurred after the Florida Highway Patrol allegedly saw a black Bentley SUV blocking a roadway.
The police said they found the rapper asleep at the wheel and smelled the strong odor of cannabis.
Awakened, Black admitted to the weed in the SUV. But police also noticed a Styrofoam cup that he believed contained an alcoholic beverage. When Black exited the vehicle, police say they saw a white powder fall to the ground from the musician.
Field tests allege the substance was cocaine, although Kodak said the substance was Percocet.
The arrest is the latest run-in with the law for Black, who was pardoned by former President Donald Trump after he was sentenced to prison in 2020 for making a false statement to buy a firearm. He served about half of his three-year term.
Closer to L.A., Justin Bieber and Kodak Black are among those being sued by two men who claim they were struck by bullets outside of a West Hollywood after-party held last year.
The shooting occurred after a private Bieber concert for A-listers. Two men claim they were shot and severely injured in the February 2022 shooting outside The Nice Guy venue following the party.
The lawsuit claims Kodak Black was largely to blame for instigating the shooting, which came as he was exiting the venue. Black himself was identified as one of the three people shot.
Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, starring Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender, adds a new lore to the Alien franchise. Rapace plays Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, who has been studying the origin of humanity with her partner, Dr. Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall Green). But as the scientists lead a crew on a space expedition aboard the Prometheus, they uncover the true horror of their discovery. This is technically part of Scott’s iconic sci-fi franchise, but it functions as a strong standalone film, as well.
