Users with the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) can run AI jobs on the organization’s Perlmutter supercomputer for half-price this month.
In the midst of a lack of worldwide availability of computing horsepower for AI workloads, the facility – which operates on behalf of the US Department for Energy’s Office of Science – is changing the equation.
Between September 7 and October 1, those registered with the organization will be charged half the normal charges. For example, a three-hour job that normally runs on seven nodes would incur a charge of 21 GPU node-hours – but throughout September, it will be charged 10.5 GPU node-hours.
Perlmutter’s A100 GPUs
“Using your time now benefits the entire NERSC community and spreads demand more evenly throughout the year, so to encourage usage now, we are discounting all jobs run on the Perlmutter GPU nodes by 50% starting tomorrow and through the end of September,” wrote user engagement group leader, Rebecca Hartman-Baker.
Hartman-Baker also pointed to additional help that NERSC will be offering users. This may be of use to those who are getting bad performance and need help making sure their script is up to scratch, or just those who want to try out code but aren’t sure where to start, among other potential uses.
Established in 2021, Perlmutter is an HPE Cray EX supercomputer that uses AMD Zen 3 Epyc CPUs as well as Nvidia A100 Tesla Core GPUs. The first phase of development saw the machine fitted with 1,536 GPU-accelerated AMD CPU nodes, each including four A100 GPUs, complemented with 35PB all-flash Lustre-based storage. The second phase saw the supercomputer augmented with 3,072 CPU-only nodes, each with two AMD Epyc processors and 512GB memory.
The supercomputer itself is largely used for nuclear fusion simulations, climate projections, as well as material and biological research. The first workloads run on Perlmutter included a project to discover how atomic interactions worked – which may lead to better batteries and biofuels.
GPU capacity to run AI workloads is hard to come by, and the offer is sadly only applicable to members of NERSC. It was originally pointed out by a Microsoft high-performance computing (HPC) specialist Glenn Lockwood, who pointed out NERSC could “make a killing” by backfilling idle capacity with commercial workloads.
This would be particularly applicable during the summer months when academics are largely away. There are, however, alternative means of renting GPUs, including through Akash’s decentralized Supercloud for AI network.
Director: Chelsea McMullan Logline: Inside the National Ballet of Canada’s 2022 production of Swan Lake, directed and staged by the legendary Karen Kain.
Panelists: Chelsea McMullan (director), Neve Campbell (EP), Sean O’Neill (co-creator/ writer/ producer), Karen Kain (former ballerina, artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada First Screening: September 9, 2 p.m. EST, Roy Thompson Hall Key Quote: “A big point in this film is that ballet is changing and it needed to change, and there’s an awareness that there’s a level of racism in the ballet world for a very long time and that needed to shift and certainly I think there is a lot more diversity happening in schools and it’s growing. We need to see more of that. A big part of what Karen wanted with this [production of] Swan Lake is to make a big change. She has this in the film where she asks the dancers not to wear tights anymore, that we get to see their skin, that we get to see their differences, and see that as a beautiful thing.”
A$AP Rocky‘s attorney went way too far in his defense of the rapper after his 2021 shooting incident … at least according to the alleged victim, A$AP Relli, who’s now suing Rocky and his high-powered attorney, Joe Tacopina.
According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Relli claims Tacopina went on a press campaign after he was allegedly shot by A$AP Rocky …. and Relli was defamed in the process.
Relli claims he was painted by Tacopina in the media as a liar, a money grabber, and an extortionist … and he believes this was all the direction of A$AP Rocky.
The suit claims Tacopina spoke to various outlets, including TMZ … in one story, Tacopina said, “Rocky didn’t commit a crime. It was an extortion attempt by a former associate, who threatened to make false, criminal accusations if Rocky didn’t pay him.”
9/16/22
TMZ.com
Relli claims as a result of the alleged attack on him, he received several death threats and has been the subject of ridicule. He’s asking for unspecified damages.
As for Rocky … his case is still pending. He has pled not guilty.
Joe Tacopina tells TMZ … “This is actually nothing more than a publicity stunt which is going to backfire badly. I more than welcome this lawsuit especially because the resolution of the criminal case has not happened yet. This opens up this extortionist to depositions under oath now before the resolution of the criminal case. It will expose the fraud he committed and unfortunately for his lawyers, it will cause them to be responsible for legal fees in this case. They don’t know the facts of this case or the actions taken by their client. But, I will be more than happy to educate them.”
“What I don’t like is the spin that [Joe Jonas] is taking care of the kids. I’m sorry — is this an immaculate conception?” —Women of The View about Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas’ divorce.
Josh Duhamel and his wife, Audra Mari, have a new addition to the family “coming soon.”
The “Shotgun Wedding” star, 50, and Miss World America pageant queen, 29, announced they were expecting their first baby together in a joint Instagram post Monday.
A photo shows Mari’s manicured hand holding an ultrasound photo next to a white stargazer lily. The caption reads, “Baby Duhamel coming soon ?.”
This will be the first baby for the couple, who tied the knot last year in an intimate ceremony in Mari’s hometown of Fargo, N.D., and the second for Duhamel, who shares son Axl, 10, with his ex-wife, “Black Eyed Peas” hit maker Fergie. Duhamel is also a native of the state.
Fergie was quick to congratulate the couple in the comments section, writing, “I am truly happy for you guys?? Axl can’t wait to be a big brother.”
Since their amicable split in 2017, Fergie and Duhamel have been supportive in co-parenting their son. Fergie opened up to “The Talk” shortly after their split, expressing her appreciation of Duhamel. “The good thing is, we don’t lose each other as parents.
“I love Josh,” she continued. “We’re making it work. We’re both working full time right now. We are just making it happen. We’ve got Axl, and we’re just working parents.”
Duhamel echoed Fergie’s sentiments when appearing on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” in December 2018. “Fergie and I had a great relationship,” he said. “I love that girl, and I always will. Unfortunately, we didn’t work. But I will always have her back, and she is the mother of my baby.”
In the same interview, Duhamel expressed that he wanted to have more children and hoped to settle down with a woman he could “be with and have a family with.”
Over the weekend, Mari and Duhamel celebrated their first wedding anniversary. Mari shared a photo of the two holding hands as they exchange vows on their wedding day to commemorate the occasion. “Happy First Anniversary sweet man ?,” she wrote in the caption of the Instagram photo. “oh how I prayed for you.”
Travis Scott revealed the MCU Phase 5 movie he wants to collaborate with Marvel Studios on the soundtrack for.
“SICKO MODE” artist Scott is currently the 12th most-streamed artist on Spotify with 68.5 million streams monthly.
The hip-hop artist is best known for his work on albums ASTROWORLD, UTOPIA, and more. Scott has also collaborated on Hollywood soundtracks for Black Panther, Tenet, and Game of Thrones.
Travis Scott Wants to Work on the MCU’s Blade Reboot
Travis Scott
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), rap sensation Travis Scott revealed his hopes to collaborate with Marvel Studios on an upcoming movie soundtrack.
Scott teased how he “would love to do” the soundtrack for Blade– which will star Mahershala Ali and is set to hit theaters in February 2025:
“Woke up thinking I would love to do the soundtrack to ‘Blade'”
The hip-hop artist has actually collaborated with Marvel Studios before on the album for Black Panther as he featured on the track “Big Shot” alongside the soundtrack’s curator, Kendrick Lamar.
Out of the MCU’s movies, the Black Panther franchise is by far the most famous for having a soundtrack filled with hit artists – including Scott, Lamar, Rihanna, Khalid, Future, The Weeknd, SZA, and more.
Blade currently has a release date set for February 14, 2025, although the Yann Demange-directed blockbuster has already been delayed multiple times. Prior to the Hollywood strikes, the movie replaced its writer and put a halt to pre-production, leading to the latest shift in release date.
Will Travis Scott’s Blade Hopes Become Reality?
Travis Scott became involved in significant controversy in 2021 after his Astroworld music festival, which took place in Texas, resulted in hundreds of injuries and several deaths. A lawsuit filed against the artist – via People – alleged Scott offered “express encouragement of violence,” leading to the tragedy.
But that controversy shouldn’t be enough to deter Scott’s chances of reuniting with Marvel Studios for another movie soundtrack. Having previously worked with Lamar on a track for Black Panther, the artist already has some connection to the studio and hopefully the music industry clout to make this dream a reality.
If Scott were to land an MCU Phase 5 collaboration for Blade, the artist would likely find himself, similarly to Lamar, assembling a stacked team of singers, rappers, and producers to bring an album to life in time for 2025.
Having just released his new album UTOPIA four years after his last project debuted, Scott certainly ought to have more time on his hands to tackle a venture such as the soundtrack for the MCU’s Blade reboot.
It should be noted that Marvel Studios certainly doesn’t hand out these massive star-studded original soundtracks liberally, with the Black Panther franchise currently receiving only ones to date. But with Blade being another major movie with a Black lead, it may stand a chance at receiving the same treatment.
But alas, for now, Scott’s hopes of working on the Blade soundtrack remain just that, hopes. Only time will tell whether anything will come of this, but, either way, fans shouldn’t expect any news on the matter for some time.
A teaser trailer for the upcoming DC sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, offers our first glimpse at Jason Momoa’s return as the underwater superhero. Released courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is one of the final installments in the DC cinematic universe before the franchise is renewed into the DCU by filmmaker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran. Check out the teaser trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom below.
Directed by James Wan from a screenplay written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldric, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom finds Momoa’s Arthur Curry fighting the good fight once again when an ancient power is unleashed. Aquaman must forge an uneasy alliance with an unlikely ally to protect Atlantis, and the world, from irreversible devastation.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will reunite several members of the cast from the first movie, including Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman, Amber Heard as Mera, Patrick Wilson as Orm Marius/Ocean Master, Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus, Temuera Morrison as Thomas Curry, Arthur’s father, and Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, Arthur’s mother and the former queen of Atlantis. The DC sequel will also add the likes of Randall Park, Vincent Regan, Jani Zhao, Pose breakout star Indya Moore, and Pilou Asbæk, with Ben Affleck reprising the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Will Jason Momoa Leave Aquaman Behind in Favor of Lobo?
Art: BossLogic
While we await Jason Momoa’s return as the DCU superhero Aquaman, the actor may have already moved onto another role in the franchise – the antihero Lobo. Though nothing has been confirmed as yet, there been rumors circulating for some time that Momoa will change roles for the newly recalibrated DCU. A report by THR has claimed that Momoa will walk away from playing the underwater hero following the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and stepping into the big boots of Lobo instead.
“Momoa, meanwhile, could emerge as a pivotal figure into the new plans, according to several sources,” the report reads.”In one scenario, the actor would wrap up his days as underwater hero Arthur Curry with Lost City, due out Dec. 25, 2023, which would be the final movie released that was made by the previous regime. But it would not spell the end of the actor’s involvement with DC, with sources saying the actor would lead another movie or franchise. The character of Lobo, a foul-mouthed cigar-chomping intergalactic bounty hunter, has been mentioned in connection with Momoa.”
Lobo is certainly a role that Momoa would suit, and arguably suit better than Aquaman, as well as being a character that the actor loves. There are still several projects in the first chapter of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU that have yet to be announced, with many thinking it will indeed be a Lobo project fronted by Momoa. Of course, this is unlikely to be revealed until after the release of the Aquaman sequel.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is scheduled to be released on December 20, 2023
Today, in a surprisingly in-depth blog post, Mark Rubin, XDefiant’s Executive Producer gave us a release window of late September/early October.
The blog post goes very in-depth on the nitty-gritty of game development, so you can read it on Ubisoft’s site if you want the full rundown. In summary, the game was submitted to major console companies like Sony and Xbox back at the end of July. This process is done to make sure everything works correctly on each console and takes a ton of time for the QA teams to get prepared for. Unfortunately, this process came back as a Not Pass in mid-August which meant the team has had to spend the past month or so correcting the issues that caused it not to pass.
That brings us to where the team is today. As of the blog post, they’re validating something called a “Candidate Master” or CM. This is the game’s final version that they believe is ready to ship, barring any fixes that would come as part of a Day 1 patch. They’ll submit this back to major console developers in the next week. If that goes well, we could look at a mid-late September release. There is a likely scenario that there will need to be some fixes in a Day 1 patch so that it passes cleanly. If so, the game will be slated forearly-mid October.
As for why the team didn’t provide any details regarding a release date previously, Rubin said the team has “not chosen the typical route” with many aspects of the game’s development. The different betas they hosted previously were meant to take serious feedback from the community and spend the time making changes the players asked for. While it looks like things are taking a long time from the outside, this is all relatively normal for game development and was merely the result of extra transparency.
While this means we still have at least a month to wait before XDefiant is in our hands, I’m willing to wait. I’m already knee-deep in a handful of games myself, so I can keep busy, and I’d rather see the game release in a complete state with as few bugs as possible.
About the Author
Shawn Robinson
Shawn’s been playing games for a decade and a half now, dabbling in many genres though finding his niche in FPS games and RPGs. If he’s not being one of the five people that still plays Heroes of the Storm, he’s probably sinking his teeth into a new singleplayer experience.
Modern cameras all strive for three things. Image quality, ergonomics, and affordability (except for ARRI). This is great but has the unfortunate effect of making all cameras feel exactly the same.
That’s why cameras like the Canon R5 C, Sony FX3, and BMPCC 6K feel so unique. They also strive for the above three things but approach them in unique ways.
For this “Deals of the Week,” we found three cameras on sale that may for you to rethink your creativity.
BMPCC 6K G2
The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera series has been one of the coolest cameras to come out over the past 10 years. The initial release was super tiny but packed an image the punched well above it’s weight. The most recently addition to this line is the BMPCC 6K G2, which offered extra affordability in an already budget friendly camera. If you want a great codec (BRAW), funky ergonomics, and a gorgeous image at a price that won’t make you sweat, this is the camera for you.
The BMPCC 6K G2 is a cine-style camera that features the same 6K S35 sensor, recording features, dynamic range, interface ports, and controls as the 6K Pro, but pares a few features to create a more affordable form. Features include a 5″ tilting touchscreen LCD, Pro EVF, and battery grip options, dual mini-XLR audio inputs, an NP-F570 L-series battery slot, and the updated Gen 5 color science.
In my opinion, this has to be one of the coolest cameras I’ve ever had the chance to use. It’s an amazing medium format photo camera that can shoot 4:2:2 10-Bit or BRAW/ProRes RAW on an external recorder. This is as close as Fujifilm will get to making a cinema camera. It has one of the biggest sensors on the market that can shoot RAW. The only cinema camera with a bigger sensor is the ARRI Alexa 65, and you can only rent that. If medium format cinematography is something you want to explore, this is a camera you don’t want to sleep on. And for the price, it’s an absolute steal.
The FUJIFILM GFX 100S redefines medium format. It pairs an ultrahigh resolution 102MP sensor with a compact mirrorless camera body design for 16-bit raw imagery with a broad dynamic range, low noise levels, and sensitivity to an ISO 12800. In terms of video, DCI and UHD 4K video recording is possible at 4:2:0 10-bit internally, 4:2:2 10-bit via HDMI, or raw 12-bit if recording externally.
In a world of cinema cameras in DSLR and mirrorless style bodies, why would you even consider a camcorder. But for some applications like docs, live-events, and sports, where having too much gear can be a detriment to your final product, a camcorder could be the right answer. I cut my teeth shooting on the predecessor to the XA60 and it was an amazing tool to have. Before jumping into a mirrorless or cinema camera, consider if your project would best be suited by a camcorder, especially for the price.
The Canon XA60 4K Camcorder is a compact, lightweight camera that features many similarities to its XA45 predecessor, including UHD 4K capture, a 1/2.3″ CMOS sensor, two XLR audio inputs, and one mini-HDMI output, making it suitable for the ENG category for documentary or journalism-style productions.
Early in his career, comedian Kumail Nanjiani did a bit about a new drug called “cheese,” which, if you break down the ingredients, turns out to be Tylenol PM mixed with heroin. “So really, it’s heroin,” he joked. “Heroin’s doing the heavy lifting.”
That line was going through my mind as I watched “Pain Hustlers,” a garish and, yes, mostly painful Big Pharma satire from director David Yates, who (“The Legend of Tarzan” aside) spent the last 15 years making increasingly convoluted Harry Potter movies. “Pain Hustlers” is the starry, mostly-true story of a company called Insys, a key player in America’s ongoing opioid crisis. In 2012, Insys launched a fast-acting spray called Subsys whose active ingredient was fentanyl. Guess what happened. People got hooked. People died. Insys got rich.
Liberally adapted by Wells Tower from Evan Hughes’ reporting on Insys, “Pain Hustlers” takes an off-putting mock-documentary approach to this tragedy, focusing on a handful of sleazebag salespeople who bent the rules to incentivize doctors to prescribe Lonafin (the film’s fictional Subsys substitute) first for treating cancer pain, and later for conditions as mild as migraines. They used one of the industry’s more ethically dubious tactics, inviting doctors to participate in sketchy speaker programs — once a legitimate peer-to-peer marketing strategy, but effectively just a scam to siphon generous “honorariums” directly into the pockets of prescription-writing MDs (which, in Subsys’ case, included dentists and podiatrists).
In the film’s opening minutes, we meet Liza Drake (Emily Blunt), her mom Jackie (Catherine O’Hara) and an especially gross drug rep named Pete Brenner (Chris Evans), all pretending to be interviewed by an artsy documentary crew (resulting in an obnoxious black-and-white format). A proper documentary treatment of the subject would be preferable, whereas Yates merely wants to establish the film’s irreverent tone, channeling Michael Bay as he shows Liza driving her convertible across Florida’s Seven Mile Bridge. Liza’s character seems to be based on a line from Hughes’ New York Times Magazine story, in which it’s revealed that Evans’ and Jay Duplass’ characters “hired a former exotic dancer named Sunrise Lee as a sales manager, and she helped court [a shady doctor] as an Insys speaker.”
Pete and Liza meet at the strip club, where she dazzles him with her powers of deduction (in a scene with zero charm and less chemistry, it takes her less than a minute to figure out his hustle). Emily Blunt is and can easily play a bright young woman, but the character’s white-trashy side — the seductive-dressing, pink-Caddy-driving dimension that makes Liza interesting — feels like more of a stretch. It feels suspiciously like Blunt and/or Yates wanted to prove that Liza could be running this company, if only her upbringing had allowed her to get an Ivy League education, but that approach undermines the joke that the dudes running the company were using escorts as sales reps. (To make that point, the film inexplicably has the unscrupulous son of a doctor do all the seducing.)
Liza is all business, and her instincts help Insys hook their first big fish. In order to keep her new job, her task is to get a single doctor to prescribe Lonafin before the company goes under. (The movie briskly mentions that every Lonafin prescription they book is worth $40,000 a month.) In the last hour of her last day, Liza snags a whale named Dr. Lydell (Brian d’Arcy James), who runs a high-volume pill mill from his strip-mall clinic. Lydell is every bit as cartoonish as the film’s other characters, all of whom turn their easy-come wealth into conspicuous upgrades. In his case, Lydell gets hair implants and a flashy new sports car. Liza ditches the Mary Kay mobile, clears her debts, buys a two-story beachfront apartment and agrees to pay double tuition to send her daughter Phoebe (Chloe Coleman) to private school.
Phoebe has an abnormal growth in her brain, which will likely require operating. It’s a strange subplot in a movie about pain medication that gets your brain racing ahead of the story: Will Phoebe require a Lonafin prescription that will get her hooked, until her teeth fall out and she dies of an overdose? No, that fate is reserved for another of Liza’s acquaintances (something has to give her a conscience). What Phoebe’s condition does is effectively force the audience to sympathize with Liza, while also presenting her with a huge medical bill weeks before her stock vests. While everyone around her — most notably the increasingly kooky billionaire (Andy Garcia) who bankrolled the company — is angling to expand the use of Lonafin by any means necessary.
If the characters could justify their chicanery before by saying that they were offering pain relief to cancer patients, well, that’s no longer the case when they start to go “off-label” — meaning, prescribing the drug for treatments not yet approved by the FDA. As everything starts to collapse, Yates brings the film back around to that ridiculous mock-doc framing device. “This is all bullshit,” Liza says, turning the tables back on the imaginary filmmaker. “You got your story. So what are you gonna do?”
Does Yates really think his shrill satire has gotten audiences so riled up that “Pain Hustlers” will compel them to change the world? Nearly 200 Americans die of opioid overdoses every day. And fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin, so whether you say “cheese” or Subsys or something else, we’re talking a highly addictive, potentially lethal substance made to ease the pain, but marketed to do a world of harm.
A smirking (and heavily fictionalized) rise-and-fall story of American greed that aspires to do for fentanyl what “The Wolf of Wall Street” did for Steve Madden, Netflix’s seriocomic “Pain Hustlers” is the first magic and/or Tarzan-free movie that “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” maestro David Yates has directed since 1998’s “The Tichborne Clarinet.” On paper, that sound like a combination of tone, subject matter, and storyteller that probably shouldn’t work. On screen, it absolutely doesn’t.
The problem with “Pain Hustlers” isn’t that its approach to the opioid crisis feels glib (it does), or that Yates keeps digitally inserting Dobby the elf into scenes of pharmaceutical sales reps pushing their latest drugs on morally flexible doctors (he doesn’t), but rather that the film takes a golden opportunity to explore the desperate personal choices that compounded into one of our most dire national crises, and wastes it on the same kind of superficial crime drama that’s already been made about myriad other “victimless crimes” and get-rich-quick schemes just like it.
Long on voiceovers, short on specificity, and so high on the generic-brand Scorsese of it all that it glosses right over the gray areas that make its characters so tragic, Yates’ film is more focused on being easy to swallow than it is on meaningfully addressing the source of the pain.
Ironically, the strongest thing about this movie is the fictional character that Wells Tower’s script invented out of whole cloth in order to make its source material — Evan Hughes’ 2022 book, “Pain Hustlers: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup” — more digestible. A convincingly hard-nosed and tenacious Emily Blunt stars as Liza Drake, a single mom who’s struggling to make ends meet as a stripper in Florida circa 2011. It’s all sad lap dances and spectacularly disguising her British accent until the day a skeezy pharma sales rep named Pete Brenner (Chris Evans, desperately trying to mine a three-dimensional character from a role that never gets more complicated than “Boston grifter”), stumbles into her club and gives her a job opportunity in lieu of a tip.
Faster than you can say “remember when that movie ‘Love & Other Drugs’ kinda tried this as a rom-com?,” Liza is visiting the most unscrupulous doctors in the state — personified by Brian d’Arcy James’ slimy Dr. Lydell — and prevailing upon them to prescribe Zanna Pharmaceuticals’ new wonder drug Lonafen. So far as our cash-strapped heroine is concerned, her lucrative new gig almost sounds like a public service: Why should mouth cancer patients suffering from tremendous amounts of pain have to suck on a slow-acting fentanyl lollipop that causes lesions when they could be sublingually delivering the stuff into their bloodstream 10 times faster just by sticking it under their tongues? After all, billionaire Zanna CEO Dr. Jack Neel (Andy Garcia in hushed germaphobe mode), who lost his own wife to cancer, paid for a clinical study that suggested that the drug posed no risk of addiction to an overwhelming percentage of patients.
But if creating medicine is an exact science, practicing it is open to interpretation, and that’s where the trouble starts. Like so many businesses under capitalism, Zanna is convinced that it has to grow in order to survive; it treats cancer with a cancerous mentality. At first, that means creating a “speaker program” designed to get susceptible doctors on the payroll, but greed begets more greed, and it’s only a matter of time before Liza gets the go-ahead to begin promoting Lonafen for off-label uses. Have a headache? Try some fentanyl. Stubbed your toe? Take 10 milligrams and call back in the morning if you can still feel your face.
On some level, Liza knows that she’s breaking the law, but Pete likens it to driving 67 M.P.H. in a 65 M.P.H. zone. It’s a compelling analogy, and one that Liza clings to once her daughter is diagnosed with an epileptic condition that may require major (read: pricey) brain surgery. “Pain Hustlers” never completely lets its heroine off the hook, but it’s clear that the American healthcare system is the real villain here. For all its foolishness, Yates’ film knows that we live in a terminally ill society — a society where the money that people make is the ultimate painkiller that saves them from having to feel the ill-effects firsthand.
To the limited extent that “Pain Hustlers” works, it does so by focusing on the human aspect of profiting from addiction and misery. And to the limited extent that it makes Liza a compelling character, it does so by focusing on her desire to feel safe — not to get rich, but rather to lessen the nerve-shredding insecurity of having to care for her daughter and her judgmental mother (a solid Catherine O’Hara, whose casting reflects the movie’s unrealized comic ambitions). Those relationships aren’t poorly served by a script that shares Zanna Pharmaceuticals’ overeagerness to keep getting bigger and bigger at the expense of getting anything right, but Blunt is able to sell Liza’s self-conflicted morality just as effectively as Liza is able to sell Lonafen. But she eventually is forced to ask herself the same question that so many of her victims are never clear-headed enough to ask themselves: At what point does pain relief start to hurt?
It’s a question that “Pain Hustlers” isn’t much interested in answering, as the movie would rather ride the highs of Zanna’s initial success — and white-knuckle its way through the company’s reversal of fortune — than slow down long enough to clock what it all means. Self-delusion becomes a constant refrain (“I did it for the right reasons,” Liza insists during the hacky faux interviews that bookend the film), andscammy posturing stands in for character growth during almost every scene (“You sell what’s in your bag,” Pete offers as both a philosophy and an excuse), but all of this stuff is so over-the-counter that it might as well be about any racket in American history.
Our intrinsic greed is no doubt part of the point, but stories can only be so “timeless” before they no longer become worth telling, and the repeated use of Semisonic’s “Closing Time” is not, it turns out, a sufficient stand-in for mining less hackneyed material from scenes of drug pushers getting their comeuppance, least of all in a film that lacks both the stomach to look closer at the loss and heartache its characters left behind, and the vision required to dramatize how they managed to look the other way. “Pain Hustlers” is well aware that it’s telling a tale as old as America itself, but that ultimately leaves the film with even less of an excuse for not telling it better.
Grade: C-
“Pain Hustlers” premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Netflix will release it in select theaters on Friday, October 20, before making it available to stream on Netflix starting Friday, October 27.
Netflix is all-in on Roald Dahl. Not only have they expanded on their initial deal to bring Dahl’s works to life on Netflix, but they also purchased the Roald Dahl Story Company in 2021 for a deal worth more than £500 million. Here’s an updated guide to all the Roald Dahl adaptations on Netflix and what’s coming next.
As we mentioned, Netflix initially signed a deal in November 2018 to work with the Roald Dahl Company on new projects, which included the initial projects listed below but have yet to be released.
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Among the titles Netflix had access to in 2018 included Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, The Twits, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, George’s Marvellous Medicine, Boy – Tales of Childhood, Going Solo, The Enormous Crocodile, The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, Henry Sugar, Billy and the Minpins, The Magic Finger, Esio Trot, Dirty Beasts, and Rhyme Stew.
Born in Llandaff, Cardiff, Roald Dahl was the son of Norwegian immigrant parents. The acclaimed author served in the RAF in WW2 and later worked on propaganda pieces. Despite writing many short adult stories, Dhal will forever be known as a beloved children’s author, which started with Gremlins in 1943 and ended with The Minpins in 1991.
Roald Dahl (Photo by Tim Jenkins/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Felipe Tewes serves as director of animation for the Roald Dahl franchise at Netflix having previously worked as director of international originals.
Roald Dahl Adaptations on Netflix
Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical (2022)
Book First Published: 1988 On-Screen Adaptations Before Netflix: 1 Netflix Release Date:December 25th, 2022
Picture: Netflix
The 1996 film Matilda is often remembered fondly by all those who were growing up during the 90s, and suffice to say it is still enjoyed by plenty of children today.
Teaming up with Working Title Films and Sony Pictures for distribution in the UK, Netflix released this all-star family musical on Christmas day in 2022.
The adaptation is of the Tony Award-winning musical of the same name by Tim Minchin, with Matthew Warchus directing.
Among the cast for the movie included Emma Thompson embodying perfectly Agatha Trunchbull and Alisha Weir put in a stunning performance as Matilda Wormwood. Rounding out the cast included Lashana Lynch, Stephen Graham, and Andrea Riseborough.
Roald Dahl Movies and Series Coming to Netflix
Wes Anderson Shorts Collection
Over the course of one week in late September 2023, four Roald Dahl shorts will be released on Netflix, all directed by visionary Wes Anderson, who has dealt with Roald Dahl’s material before in the form of Fantastic Mr. Fox.
First premiering at the Venice Film Festival, this is the big 39-minute short that features the talents of Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel, and Richard Ayoade.
Here’s the synopsis:
“A rich man who learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes and then sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling.”
The second of the shorts is a live-action one that also featured in the Henry Sugar collection of stories. It’s about a small/brilliant boy ruthlessly pursued by two large/idiotic bullies.
Rupert Friend, Asa Jennings, and Ralph Fiennes star in this particular short, which has a runtime of 17 minutes.
This stop-motion animated short has a runtime of just under 20 minutes and sees Ayoade, Fiennes, and Friend lend their voices.
The story wasn’t in the main Henry Sugar collection but rather featured in the Someone Like You and Sweet Mystery short story collections. The short is about a “professional rodent exterminator.”
This short story featured in More Tales of the Unexpected and Someone Like You, telling the story of a man who discovers a poisonous snake asleep in his bed.
Patel, Cumberbatch, Fiennes, and Kingsley all feature in this final live-action short.
Unsurprisingly, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was announced to be one of the first of the Road Dahl projects to get underway at Netflix. It took just over 16 months for the announcement, but we now have confirmation that Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit director Taika Waititi will write, direct, and executive produce both Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.
Taika Waititi the 2020 Oscar winner for Adaptive Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit photographed by Andrew Eccles on Feb. 10, 2020, at the H Club Los Angeles, CA
The beloved children’s novel was first published in 1964, making it almost 60 years old! Another mind-blower is the beloved classic adaptation, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder, now over 50 years old celebrating its 50th anniversary in August 2021.
Production is still ongoing on the animated project with many animators listing the project in production from 2022 through to the present.
Upon finding one of five sought-after golden tickets, Charlie Bucket is invited to take a grand tour of the world-famous Willy Wonka factory. Accompanied by his Grandpa Joe, Charlie is also joined by four other children, whose habits and mannerisms are far from delightful. What’s inside the factory will change Charlie’s life forever.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Copyright. Puffin Books.
Taika Waititi will also be responsible for the first on-screen adaptation of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Even though the beloved children’s novel is almost 50 years old, no one has taken on the project until now. Just like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator will be written, directed and executive produced by Taika Waititi.
The plot is far more outlandish than its predecessor, but if there’s anyone who can take on the bizarre and zany story and smash it out of the park, it must be Taika Waititi.
Pictured: Taika Waititi (left) and Chris Hemsworth (right).
After launching into the sky with the Great Glass Elevator, Willy Wonka, Charlie, and Grandpa Joe arrive at Space Hotel USA. The trio is mistaken for spies by approaching astronauts and the President of the United States. However, shortly after their arrival, they discover that the hotel has been taken over by dangerous, shape-shifting alien monsters known as The Vermicious Knids.
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator – Copyright. Puffin Books.
There were plans for many years to produce a feature film for The Twits, but the project was abandoned around 2012. John Cleese was set to write the script, along with Kirk De Micco. Disney would have produced the film alongside the animation studio Vanguard Film & Animation.
In July 2021, we first reported that the project was moving forward and had boarded Wreck-it Ralph writer Phil Johnston to join the project.
In 2022, The Wrap reported that the limited series plans for The Twits had been scrapped and were then being developed as a movie. We’ve seen numerous people attached to a movie project with Phil Johnston directing, which seems to stack up.
Mr. and Mrs. Twit, two retired circus trainers, are the nastiest and ugliest pair around, constantly pranking each other, each nastier than the last. From training a poor family of monkeys, the Muggle-Wumps, to capturing birds for their pies with superglue, the Twits are incredibly fiendish. When the family of monkeys is visited by the Roly-Poly bird, they devise a plan with their visitor to take down the Twits for good.
The Twits -Copyright. Puffin Books.
Upcoming Roald Dahl Theater Productions
Picture: Netflix
In May 2023, Netflix and Roald Dahl Story Company announced that they had three stage-theater productions in the works led by director Jenny Worton and executive producer Anna Schmitz:
A new musical for young audiences of The Enormous Crocodile, co-produced with Leeds Playhouse and Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.
A new theatrical reading of Roald Dahl’s The Magic Finger presented for online release for schools and families, co-produced with the Unicorn Theatre.
A spectacular large-scale circus, which is currently in development, inspired by Roald Dahl’s stories and featuring a range of beloved characters.
Which Roald Dahl animated series are you looking forward to most on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below.
From the Technicolor merch to the staging to the setlist, everything about Phoenix and Beck’s joint headlining Summer Odyssey Tour was breezy during a New York stop at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. The strictly fun vibe was best illustrated by the featherweight “Odyssey,” a new tune the two acts released this year to commemorate the trek (sample lyrics: “We’ll fall into the ocean / I’ll be there / On an odyssey in the sun”).
Phoenix played a show heavy on the group’s breakout album, 2009’s “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,” and newest record, last year’s “Alpha Zulu,” leading multiple singalongs about posh people falling in love. From millennial-approved party starters “Lisztomania” and “1901” to more reflective moments like live highlight “Sunskrupt!,” which mashes up “Bankrupt!” and “Love Like a Sunset” into a lengthy, trippy jam, Phoenix kept things moving. Even their newest songs recall the sugary highs of their popular work, so there was never a mass exodus to the beer line. The French group’s warm and synthy pop was anchored by the always-ferocious drumming of Thomas Hedlund, whose thunderous work kept the band in the pocket and fans dancing. Additionally, there was plenty of visual stimulation, from a barrage of nearly blinding strobe lights to the crowdsurfing of singer Thomas Mars.
Such a high-energy act seemed hard to follow, but Beck and his longtime backing band bounded onstage, turbocharged and ready to play a hit-filled set that ignored his most recent record, 2019’s “Hyperspace.” The first stretch of songs focused on his career-defining fifth LP, 1996’s “Odelay,” from the dirty guitar roar of opener “Devils Haircut” to the retro-cool “The New Pollution,” and radio hits “Mixed Bizness” and “Girl.” Any zigzagging look at Beck’s career is liable to cause whiplash, as he casually toggled through modes such as ironic rapper, serious guitar guy, pop savant and reflective acoustic artist. Yet the genre blend is pure Beck, and his infectious energy was the furnace behind all of the songs. In leather pants and sporting a flashy pair of dancing shoes, the singer busted out moves straight from the James Brown and Prince playbooks, getting as funky as possible to “Qué Onda Guero” and “Debra.”
Near the end, Phoenix and Weyes Blood, the evening’s opener, came onstage to play a peppy arrangement of Beck’s 2002 “Sea Change” tearjerker “Lost Cause,” adding a strange sense of pleasure to a wholly depressing classic. But next, the musicians started up “Odyssey,” with the audience happy to resume bopping around versus hearing a challenging night of music from either act. Beck ended the evening with “Odelay” classic “Where It’s At,” sending balloons into the crowd during the infectious “Bottles and cans / Just clap your hands” refrain. Although Beck made his name as a musical chameleon, it was a treat to see him enjoying himself in comfort food mode, getting a kick out of moving people and tapping into nostalgia.
Pictured, left to right: Beck, Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars and opener Weyes Blood
Toronto death metal group Tomb Mold have announced their first new album in four years, The Enduring Spirit. It comes out digitally this Friday, September 15, with a physical release scheduled for October 13 via 20 Buck Spin. Check out the complete tracklist and cover art for the LP below.
Recorded at Boxcar Sound Recording with previous collaborator Sean Pearson, The Enduring Spirit spans seven tracks in total. “After three years spent spiraling in the cycle reincarnate necessity, a myriad of consciousness have now become one,” Tomb Mold said in a statement. “Prolong the final death spiral of nature and dive into the gnashing current of ‘The Enduring Spirit of Calamity.’”
After forming in 2016, Tomb Mold were nothing if not consistent during their early era, releasing an album every year: 2017’s Primordial Malignity, 2018’s Manor of Infinite Forms, and 2019’s Planetary Clairvoyance. The band took some unofficial time off to work on other music: bassist Derrick Vella released twoalbums in Dream Unending, and guitarist Payson Power and singer-drummer Max Klebanoff worked on dreamy math-rock as Daydream Plus. Last year, Tomb Mold returned as a trio with Aperture of Body, a three-song EP.
01 The Perfect Memory (Phantasm of Aura) 02 Angelic Fabrications 03 Will of Whispers 04 Fate’s Tangled Thread 05 Flesh as Armour 06 Servants of Possibility 07 The Enduring Spirit of Calamity
Anna Kendrick’s directing debut “Woman of the Hour” has been acquired by Netflix after its Toronto premiere on Friday. The streamer is paying in the $11 million range for the ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, making it the first major sale of the festival. The deal covers the U.S. and several international territories including France, Italy, Japan and South Korea.
Sources tell Variety that Netflix won out in a competitive situation after the film garnered multiple offers.
In the movie based on a true story, Kendrick plays a contestant on “The Dating Game” in 1978, who picks Rodney Alcala as her potential date. Alcala, who died in prison in 2021, turned out to be a serial killer of at least eight victims but possibly over a hundred. The “Dating Game” contestant, Cheryl Bradshaw, never went on the date with Alcala, who had already been convicted of being a sex offender. Daniel Zovatto plays the killer, who posed as a photographer in Los Angeles to take pictures of his victims. Tony Hale and Nicolette Robinson also star in the film.
The eight-figure deal brings “Woman of the Hour” back to Netflix after the streamer initially optioned the story from a Black List script by Ian MacAllister McDonald and attached Kendrick to star; however, the project was scuttled due to a wave of cost-cutting at the streamer. When the original director also exited, Kendrick stepped behind the camera to helm the picture as well. Her bold move paid off and the film debuted to rave reviews at TIFF, many of which praised the Oscar nominee’s aptitude as a director.
“Woman of the Hour” did not receive a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement, so Kendrick did not attend the festival in solidarity. At the premiere, a statement from her was read by one of the producers, saying, “This film festival has proven time and time again that it is an artist-driven festival, and it has been my absolute honor to have TIFF as part of my career for the last 14 years. I truly can’t express how proud I am to have the world premiere of ‘Woman of the Hour’ at TIFF. It is more than a dream come true. I am heartbroken to not be with you all in this moment.”
Kendrick produced via her Let’s Go Again banner with Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee and Miri Yoon, as well as BoulderLight Pictures’ J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margueles. Executive Producers include Stuart Ford, Zach Garrett, Miguel A. Palos, Jr., Ian McDonald, Joe Penna, Paul Barbeau, Sean Patrick O’Reilly, Andrew Deane and Stephen Crawford. BondIt Media Capital financed the project for AGC Studios and Matthew Helderman and Luke Taylor served as executive producers on the project for BondIt.
The deal was made by CAA Media Finance, Range and AGC Studios. The sale was first reported by Deadline.
“It wasn’t shocking because racism is what it is. But it was just like a punch to my stomach,” said Boot.
“The whole community should be a place, the school should be a place, where students regardless of who they are, or what they look like, or what they believe, should feel safe. And having something like that, welcoming them back to school, it’s violence, and it’s something that there are people working against, but racism is a bit insidious.”
Penticton BMX Club hit with racist graffiti
Boot, who grew up in Summerland and served as the community’s first Black mayor from 2018 to 2022, says she has dealt with racism countless times.
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She added that she is now in a position where she feels comfortable to speak out against it.
“It’s part of this community, and probably part of every community in British Columbia. It’s not just directed, I mean, this particular slur was but it’s not always directed at Black people. It can be directed at anyone,” said Boot.
“That’s why I don’t find it shocking because I’ve experienced it countless times. And it still is offensive and hurtful.”
The slur has since been removed from the sign.
School District 67 superintendent, Todd Manuel, also spoke out following the incident and said officials are taking this very seriously.
“Obviously really hurtful to see that kind of language anywhere and particularly hurtful for us to see it on one of our schools,” said Manuel.
“Inclusive school environments and equity are things that we’re very serious about and that we are intentional about. Our educators and our students will feel hurt by this type of messaging as well.”
Penticton Indian Band targeted by racist vandalism
Manuel went on to say that school district staff will continue to work ‘extremely’ hard to ensure all students feel welcome within the school communities.
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“Perhaps some people don’t realize the significant impact that it can have, but I heard it described as not just hateful but even violent in terms of the impact it can have on people. So, we’re really disturbed to see that kind of message,” said Manuel.
“We also know that we need to move forward and acknowledge that our educators work extremely hard to welcome all students and have them all feel included and welcomed in our school communities. We’ll continue to focus on that as we move forward from this really unfortunate incident.”
The School District plans to work closely with the District of Summerland and RCMP as well as other community partners moving forward.
“It’s intolerable. We’ve had a few incidents like this in recent weeks and months, and I think it’s part of a larger trend we’re seeing across the country and it’s not representative of the kind of community Summerland is,” said Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes.
“I know there have been incidents in the past that haven’t been reported. We need to be reporting everything we need, we need the RCMP to be investigating and certainly laying charges. That’s part of the solution part.”
Kelowna RCMP investigating after recent string of racist vandalism
Although the racial slur was quickly removed, Boot believes that it is nowhere near the resolution that needs to happen.
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“A number of people have approached me and said here we go again. This is such a great place to live, I went away to school and worked, and I came back, and raised my kids here. I know that this is a fantastic community, but it has its problems, and this is one of those problems,” said Boot.
“I’m hoping that together as a collective, which will include the South Okanagan Immigrant & Community Services, and the high school, and the school district, we can work together to do something. So that people understand the difference between saying you’re not a racist to actually being an anti-racist, and somebody who is an ally and will stand up for people in the community that are experiencing racism. It’s a big hope, it’s a big ask, but I’m hopeful.”
At this it is unknown who is responsible for adding the racial slur, but RCMP have been made aware of the incident and an investigation is underway.
‘Confronting the White Elephant’ anti-racism forum in Penticton
Entertainment workers have moved to take more than $44 million out of their individual retirement accounts as they endure months without work due to the strikes.
Nearly 3,000 workers have filed for hardship withdrawals, according to an update circulated on Friday by the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans. The average withdrawal is about $15,000.
The figures, which were confirmed by two labor sources, show the scale of the economic hardship facing Hollywood’s below-the-line workforce, which includes set painters, grips, craft service workers, drivers, cinematographers, costumers, hair and makeup artists, and many others.
The Writers Guild of America strike began on May 2, shutting down most scripted TV and film productions. But work had already been slow for several months before that. Many workers have said they have not worked since January or even last fall, causing them to use up their emergency savings.
The Entertainment Community Fund has distributed more than $6.5 million in aid to 3,100 struggling workers. The Motion Picture and Television Fund also gives out grants up to $1,500, and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA also have their own strike relief funds for their members.
The MPIPHP covers workers in the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and the Basic Crafts unions, including Teamsters, laborers and electricians.
Members who participate in the defined-contribution retirement plan, which is similar to a 401(k), are eligible to take as much as 20% of their account balance, up to $20,000. The MPIPHP announced the one-time hardship withdrawal program on July 31, and began accepting applications on Sept. 1.
Members who have not reached retirement age must pay a significant price to withdraw money early — a 10% federal penalty, plus a 2.5% penalty for California residents. Withdrawals are also taxed as ordinary income.
The unions urge members to seek tax advice before applying for hardship withdrawals.
SAG-AFTRA has also been on strike since July 14.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has not met with the WGA in the bargaining room for more than three weeks. On Friday, the two sides exchanged warringpublic statements, but did not move toward a resumption in negotiations.
“Every member company of the AMPTP wants a fair deal for writers and actors and an end to the strikes, which are affecting not only our writer and actor colleagues, but also thousands of others across the industry,” the studio alliance said.
The WGA said: “We share the frustration with how long the companies are prolonging the strike, and remain committed to negotiating a fair resolution as fast as possible.”
A “Murder, She Wrote” movie is in the works at Universal Pictures, with “Dumb Money” writers Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo and producer Amy Pascal attached, Variety has confirmed.
Blum and Angelo joined the project prior to the writers strike, and will not resume their work on the screenplay until the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have reached a deal. The “Murder, She Wrote” film is among the writers’ next projects, Blum and Angelo’s representatives shared with Variety.
The original “Murder, She Wrote” series starred Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher, who solves murders that occur in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine. The crime drama series ran on CBS for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996. Lansbury scored an Emmy nomination for every season, but never won the award.
“Murder, She Wrote” was created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link. Universal Television produced the long-running series.
Blum and Angelo co-wrote the screenplay for the biographical dramedy “Dumb Money,” starring Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Dane DeHaan and Vincent D’Onofrio.
Based on Ben Mezrich’s 2021 book “The Antisocial Network,” “Dumb Money” follows the true story of a group of investors involved in the GameStop short squeeze. The film, directed by Craig Gillespie, will be released in limited theaters Sept. 15.
Blum and Angelo are repped by Ida Ziniti at CAA. Universal did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment.
Jeff Sneider at Above the Line was the first to report the “Murder, She Wrote” movie news.
Director-screenwriter: Brian Helgeland Logline: Says Helgeland, “The movie tells the story of a group of fishermen and their relationships with each other, two of their relationships with their fathers. It’s a very personal film. I grew up in that world. My father was a fisherman, I fished when I got out of college. It took a long time to tell this story, but I finally told it.” When the firshermen lose their boat, and their debts rack up, they get involved with a group of heroin smugglers. Panelist: Brian Helgeland Premiere date: November on Paramount+ Key Quote: When it came to casting the role of Mabel, who is a pivotal connection to get the fisherman involved in the drug trade, Helgeland had no idea what a sensation that Ortega would become from Wednesday, however, he could clearly spot her raw talent. “She is a total professional. She’s a child actress originally. My experiences — Emily Browning was a child actress and she’s a dead-on professional. No fooling around. Nails it. Jenna is the same way. A lot of work goes into that. She does a lot of prep and thinking about it on her own. When she (Jenna) was up (on camera), I’d say ‘Get the Navy SEAL in here. We need our Navy SEAL.’ She arrives, two takes and you’re done.”
Japanese actor Koji Yakusho, winner of Cannes’ best actor prize this year for his universally acclaimed performance in Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, has been selected 2023 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival’s filmmaker in focus.
Yakusho will attend the Taiwanese festival in person and present a selection of seven of his films during the event’s 17-day duration. The titles shown will include Perfect Days and the erotic classic Lost Paradise (1997), as well as five titles selected by Yakusho himself, including Kamikaze Taxi (1995), Shall We Dance (1996), Cure (1997), Eureka (2000) and The Woodsman and the Rain (2011).
“With these seven films, cinephiles will be able to witness the charm and versatile acting of a legendary actor,” Taipei’s organizers said in a statement.
Across his four-decade career, Yakusho has been nominated for the Japan Academy of Film Prize 23 times, including seven consecutive nominations in the best leading actor category, which he has won three times, as well as one best supporting actor win.
Yakusho first made a name for himself in Japan via a series of performances in taiga drama (Japanese historical dramas set during the age of the samurai), along with a breakout film role in Juzo Itami’s classic comedy Tampopo. He first attracted widespread critical acclaim from director Masato Harda’s KamikazeTaxi with a brilliant portrayal of a taxi driver trapped between politicians and mafia gangs, which won him the best actor trophy at Japan’s Mainichi Film Awards.
He first came to the attention of international audiences in 1996 with Shall We Dance? — Richard Gere reprised his role in a 2004 U.S. remake — which he followed by starring in the 1997 Palme d’Or winner The Eel, directed by the late, great Shohei Imamura. In the mid-2000s he memorably appeared in two Hollywood productions: Rob Marshall’s Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and Babel (2006), directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.
Perfect Days looks poised to be another breakout moment for Yakusho. The Hollywood Reporter‘s critic summed the film up at Cannes as “ineffably lovely,” writing Wim Wenders ends his eloquent and emotionally rich Japanese drama, Perfect Days, with [a shot] held tight on the extraordinarily expressive face of Koji Yakusho as his character drives through Tokyo reflecting on the rewards and perhaps also the regrets of his life with the same spirit of openness and acceptance, embracing the sadness as much as the joy.”
The film was acquired for North American release at Cannes by specialty distributor Neon, which will release it sometime this fall. It is Japan’s submission to the Oscars for the best international film category.
The 2023 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival runs Nov. 9-26 and will open with the world premiere of two local Taiwanese titles: Snow in Midsummer, directed by Chong Keat-aun, a former best new director prize winner at the event; and Be With Me, by Hwarng Wern-ying, who previously took home prizes at the festival for best art direction, costume and makeup. The event will close with Tales of Taipei, an omnibus film comprised of ten stories by directors from across East Asia.
Fans in Colombo sang Gadar 2’s song to celebrate India’s victory. (Image: Instagram)
Fans of Indian cricket in Colombo celebrated India’s win by singing Sunny Deol’s Main Nikla Gaddi Leke song from Gadar 2.
Sunny Deol’s Gadar 2 took fans into a frenzy when it was released in India in August this year. The audience responded to the film with full fervor and it quickly broke many records at the box office. However, it now seems like the Gadar 2 frenzy has not just swept fans in India. As India won against Pakistan in the cricket match held on Monday, fans in Sri Lanka were seen celebrating the victory by singing the song Main Nikla Gaddi Leke from Sunny’s film.
On Monday, India defeated Pakistan by 288 runs in the Super Four match of the Asia Cup. A video then emerged online in which Indian cricket fans in Colombo, Sri Lanka were seen dancing while holding the Indian flag as they sang Sunny Deol’s song Main Nikla Gaddi Leke from the Gadar franchise.
#WATCH | Sri Lanka: Indian cricket fans in Colombo sing song ‘Main Nikla Gaddi Leke’ from Gadar movie and chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Matram’ as they celebrate the victory of India against Pakistan in the Super 4 match of the Asia Cup.India has defeated Pakistan by… pic.twitter.com/g6qr0bhYA1
Gadar 2 was released in theatres on August 11 amid much anticipation and fanfare. According to Sacnilk.com, the Anil Sharma directorial venture has earned nearly Rs. 511 crores since its release. During a press conference held earlier, Sunny expressed that he was quite nervous before the film’s release. He said, “I was quite stressed before the release of the movie. When the movie was released, I cried and laughed the entire night. My father was around and he saw me. I told him, ‘I have not had alcohol. Main khush aa main ki kara (I am happy, what can I do)’.”
The actor also recently made an appearance on Rajat Sharma’s show Aap Ki Adalat. Speaking about the film’s success, Sunny said, “When he (Anil Sharma) told me about the idea, I liked it, and from then onwards, work began. I had this confidence that the people who liked ‘Gadar’ would also like this sequel. I knew either the movie would not click, or if it clicked, it would give the movie its due honor (izzat). This movie has kept its ‘izzat’ as a sequel.”
He was also asked if he would consider making a third installment of the Gadar franchise. The actor said that while he was nervous and scared before doing Gadar 2, he felt ready and prepared for Gadar 3.
Actor Noah Centineo touched down at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend to rally support for Saeed Roustaee, an Iranian filmmaker sentenced to prison by his government over the latter’s film “Leila’s Brothers.”
Over Friday cocktails at festival headquarters, the TIFF Bell Lightbox, the “Black Adam” star appealed to top representatives from film festivals around the world on behalf of Roustaee, who was sentenced to six months in prison after screening his feature at the Cannes Film Festival without authorization from Iran’s culture ministry. Furthermore, he would not amend the film after the ministry requested corrections. He was formally charged with “anti-regime propaganda activity” and will be banned from directing for five years.
“I am here for a friend. A friend who knows viscerally that freedom of expression is a gift and that it is not free, as much as it should be a basic human right,” Centineo told the group. “He knows it needs to be fought for and protected and I know it’s not every day that artists can come together to take a stand and protect one of their own in such a dire situation.”
Centineo first met Roustaee when both served on the jury at Festival International du Film de Biarritz in June. Additional figures to show support for Roustaee include Martin and Franchesca Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. In addition to his own remarks, Centineo read a letter from journalists Yeganeh and Jason Rezaian, who were arrested and served time in the same prison that Roustaee will report to.
“We know these circumstances well. My husband Jason and I were journalists in Tehran, my hometown, when we were arrested in our homes simply for reporting the news, transparently and with permission. I was held for nearly three months in solitary confinement and he spent a year-and-a-half behind bars,” wrote Yeganeh Rezaian, as read by Centineo.
“Since our release, we have dedicated much of our time for elevating and advocating for other creatives in Iran who have suffered a similar fate. He as a columnist for The Washington Post and me as a researcher and advocate at The Committee to Protect Journalists,” she concluded. “Please do not let them silence Saeed. Use your voices to be his voice.”
A Change.org petition was posted in mid-August to appeal Roustaee’s sentence. He is currently awaiting a new court session.
In 2022, reports surfaced that Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy would be entering a galaxy far, far, away and helming his own Star Wars movie.
Deadline originally reported that Levy would start on the project when he completed his work on the fifth season of Stranger Things and Marvel’s third Deadpool installment.
Shawn Levy. Photo: WSJ
Levy Gives an Update
With Stranger Things now in the rear-view mirror, and Deadpool 3 under production before the SAG-AFTRA strike, Levy’s next project could very well be Star Wars.
In fact, according to the Free Guy director, development on his Star Wars film was underway when the WGA strikes began this spring.
Image: Star Wars
“We were just starting the process of developing my movie, and the writer strike happened. So we are in that holding pattern that so much of our industry is in,” Levy revealed.
It Could Be A Long Wait
Interestingly, Levy’s Star Wars film was not one of the three upcoming titles revealed by Lucasfilm earlier this year.
Dave Filoni. Source: wired.com
Those films include a Dave Filoni-headed film that will bring together characters from The Mandalorian universe, a Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed film that will see Rey Skywalker rebuild the New Jedi Order, and a James Mangold film about the Dawn of the Jedi.
Photo: Variety
While it is good to hear that plans for Levi’s film are still in the works, it doesn’t seem like we will see his Star Wars vision anytime soon.
‘Deadpool 3’ Delay Could Impact Levy’s Star Wars Film
As previously mentioned, Levy was set to start working on the film in earnest after the release of Deadpool 3. While that film is still scheduled for a May 3, 2024 release, production was shut down in July.
Deadpool 3. Photo: Marvel
With no end to the Hollywood strikes in sight, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Deadpool 3, along with a slew of other films, delayed.
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Going through some major changes from his comic origin in the same way that happened for Clark and Lois alike, Jimmy stood by his friends’ sides all the way through the finale, with one event even setting him up for a wild future.
Jimmy Olsen’s Big Moment in My Adventures With Superman Finale
Max
Episode 10 of My Adventures With Superman revealed a major twist centered on Jimmy Olsen, specifically to his work with his Flamebird social media brand.
Max
Perry White, Jimmy’s boss at the Daily Planet, held Olsen back for a moment at the beginning of the episode to talk about Flamebird, which Olsen ran for the entire season as he shared videos of Superman’s antics across Metropolis:
“I need you to stay Olsen. We need to talk… about Flamebird.”
Max
Due to Flamebird’s success, White and the Daily Planet purchased Olsen’s site for an astounding $5.6 million price tag, making Jimmy rich beyond his wildest dreams as he told his friends at Thanksgiving dinner:
“Oh, right. I sold Flamebird to the Daily Planet for $5.6 million. I’m super rich now.”
Max
This has many fans believing that, with Jimmy’s newfound fortune, he may find himself enjoying an upgraded living situation in Season 2, which will likely mean that he will share living quarters with Clark and Lois as they grow their friendships.
Max
Matt Fraction’s 2020Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen comics run put Jimmy in a position of wealth and power as he purchased the Daily Planet, something that could be replicated or insinuated as Season 2 of the series moves forward.
DC Comics
Where Will Jimmy Olsen Go in Season 2?
With Jimmy Olsen coming into this kind of fortune thanks to his work alongside Superman, the expectation is that the trio should at least have an easier living situation, even with the world in danger thanks to new villains and challenges.
And with Season 2 already moving along fairly quickly in terms of development, Warner Bros. is likely fairly deep into the progress of working out where exactly Jimmy, Clark, and Lois will be upon their return.
And with the trio all now holding down steady jobs as Clark continues to evolve into his Superman persona, not even the sky may be the limit for what they’ll be able to accomplish together.
Season 1 of My Adventures With Superman is now streaming in full on Max and Adult Swim.
WG writes: “The Crew: Motorfest is just over the, ahem Horizon, and we captured some gameplay footage of the opening sections to give you a quick look at the game running on an Xbox Series X in performance mode.”
The Better World Fund event in Venice took place during the 80th Edition of the Venice Film Festival, La Mostra, on the 7th & 8th of September, 2023.
More than 300 people attended at the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel & La Scuola Grande Della Misericordia di Venezia with the participation of great personalities such as: Isabelle Huppert, Jeremy Piven, Euzhan Palcy, Tom Volf, Keira Chaplin, Nadia Farès, Elisabeth Moreno, Joyce El-Khoury, and many others to raise awareness on: ” Women Empowerment” through Cinematic Art at the service of humanity”
Since 2016, BWF, Better World Fund, a Paris-based non-profit organization, has been organizing prestigious international events and inspiring cultural programs through concrete actions. This year again, in the sublime Palazzos of the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel and the Misericordia di Venezia, influential individuals from around the world were gathered, driven by the desire to positively influence the future of our society.
As stated by Manuel Collas de la Roche, President and Founder of Better World Fund: “In the heart of the magic of La Mostra, the BWF edition in Venice will celebrate women, and raise awareness about the place and power of women in the film industry. Today, we are convinced that the cinema industry holds a statutory role as a vector of social, educational and environmental values. It is therefore essential to continue supporting and encouraging the involvement of women in all aspects of the film industry in order to create a more equitable and inclusive society for all.”
Special Guests: During our gala evening, that took place on September 8th at La Scuola Grande Della Misericordia, in the presence of Isabelle Huppert, Jeremy Piven, the Soprano Joyce El-Khoury, many celebrities supported our commitment through their attendance, contributing their image to a cause that engages us all: Women Empowerment in the Image of Maria Callas.
Symbolising our theme, Euzhan Palcy, a celebrated filmmaker, has been commemorated for her achievements. She received an honorary Oscar last November and was recognized as the first Black director to win the Silver Lion at the 1983 Venice Mostra. She further garnered a César Award for Best First Work, a historic achievement for a female and Black director. Palcy’s work has inspired filmmakers, artists, and writers. Recently, she was honored with Medals of Honor from the Society of Dramatic Arts and Composers in France and the French National Assembly.
For this edition, with the underlying mission of “Women’s Empowerment”, the Better World Fund supported the Maria Callas Foundation, in honor of her centenary. By collecting archives from all over the world, including private collections and donations, the Foundation’s mission is to search and gather these archives in order to build a museum collection.
Mrs Diane Kalogeropoulos, Maria Callas’s great-niece honoured us with her presence to celebrate her memory.
Tom Volf, a leading expert on Maria Callas, highlighted the film he has just directed with Monica Bellucci, following the success of his last film “Maria by Callas” in 2017 which became an award-winning documentary and the most-watched French-produced film in the world in 2018. The collaboration between Tom Volf and Monica Bellucci, along with the foundation’s commitment to curating archives for a museum collection, reinforces the event’s overarching theme of empowerment.
On September 8th at 10:00 am, at La Scuola Grande Della Misericordia, the Better World Fund held a Masterclass Conference titled: “From Script to Screen: Empowering Women in the World of Cinema”. “ By giving women more varied and complex roles, the cinema industry offers positive role models who challenge traditional expectations and encourage women’s emancipation. This helps to create a more egalitarian and inclusive society by showing audiences that women can succeed in all domains of life whilst have a significant impact.” said Manuel Collas de la Roche, President.
We have been honored to welcome Mrs. Elisabeth Moreno, President of Tech-Foundation, Former Minister in charge of Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal opportunities, who moderated the masterclass.
Beside her, influential women and experts in their fields, who are working for the place, protection and equality of women in our society, debated with the audience.
PANEL : “Empowering Women in the World of Cinema”, with the exceptional participation of: Nadia Fares, Yasemin Samdereli, Kiera Chaplin, Tarina Patel, Valentina Castellani, Euzhan Palcy.
Individual Speakers : Empowering Women in the World of Business & Philanthropy, with the expert support of: Dr. Solanges Vivens, Karine Gros and Lorène Ferrandès.
On the same day, the Gala Dinner took place in the sumptuous hall of La Scuola Grande Della Misericordia and featured a rich artistic program with performances by Maria Elena Infantino, an international singer and actress with a unique connection to Maria Callas as the daughter of the tenor Luigi Infantino; Anna Sanachina a dramatic soprano of the great romantic tradition of Italian oper ; Daniel Alhaiby, a professional flutist, composer and arranger of unrivalled distinction; followed by an award ceremony and an auction
At each edition, the Better World Fund has awarded prizes to individuals committed to social, cultural and environmental causes. For this Venice Edition, Samia Yusuf Omar, posthumously, for her tragic fate, her courage and her fight against discrimination as a Muslim woman taking part in the Olympic Games; Elisabeth Moreno; Jeremy Piven ; Euzhan Palcy, the Soprano Joyce El-Khoury and Sindaco Onorevole Cateno De Luca received the Better World Best Achievement and Commitments Awards. Dr. Solanges Vivens received an award presented by Anwar Elkamony as the official Charity Partner of the Better World Fund.
The event is held thanks to the precious support of 314 Cannes Group, NAD Clinic, Homolog, IIWB, Joanna Plafsky, Studio Mao, Squair, Clinique La Prairie, Maia Wine, SDB New Delhi, Luxury International Magazine, Chic Icon, Paris- Saclay University, Paris-Saclay Foundation, Open Culture Foundation, Luxury Limited Edition, Luxury Investment Magazine, Rinascimento Magazine, Celebre Magazine, Fab UK Magazine, United Studio, Culture Focus Magazine, Global Event Magazine, Parole Paris, Breaking-News-Arabia.com, Qatar-Media.tv, Dubai-Media.tv, Breaking-News- Saudi-Arabia.com, Breaking-News Kingdom-of-Bahrain.com, Opportunitysaudi.com, Opportunity-Mena.com, Opportunity-Europe.com.
Promoting their new Syrian war drama Rebel, Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah told Insider they don’t understand why their film was sacrificed, especially after watching The Flash, which made them “sad.” However, this wasn’t the normal post-Flash depression where feelings of nausea and sorrow followed the sight of CGI Nicolas Cage fighting a giant spider. Rather, the directors thought there was room for their movie, too.
“We watched [The Flash] and we were sad,” Adil said. “We love director Andy Muschietti and his sister Barbara, who produced the movie. But when we watched it, we felt we could have been part of the whole thing.”
In addition to calling the cancelation the “worst experience of their careers,” Adil said the audience didn’t get the chance “to judge for themselves.” The filmmakers consider the moviegoers their “ultimate boss and should be deciders if something is good or bad, or if something should be seen or not.” As we know, the only people who were privy to Batgirl were those lucky enough to attend “funeral screenings” on the Warners lot.
Still, they offered some insights into the movie that we’ll never see, which was nice. Adil said their film was “more grounded” than The Flash with its “big fantasy component.” Their movie was “more like Tim Burton’s Gotham City.” That would’ve been nice, considering The Flash avoided Burton’s gorgeous production design for a CGI slugfest in the middle of the desert. Nevertheless, these gluttons for punishment say they “could never say no” to returning to the DC Universe. “If we got another chance to be part of it, we’d do it,” Adil said, presumably because no one told him he wasn’t legally required to make superhero movies for Warner Bros.
Even though the temps are dropping, it’s always dress season in our books—and we rounded up the best plus-size dresses on Amazon to get you from autumn into the whirl of holiday events. If you’re looking for that standout cocktail dress for your office party, a special fall wedding guest dress (pro tip: one-shoulder options and puff sleeves are trendy this year), or a comfy, casual T-shirt dress to pair with structured loafers, these highly-reviewed options have you more than covered.
Our Top Picks:
And if you’re still not ready to retire your flowy floral maxis, you can always pair them with fall boots and a cute jacket to take the look from season to season. Slip dresses are great for this time of year, too—but if cozy knit autumnal dresses are more your vibe, Amazon has tons of hidden high-quality gems.
All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
While Starz execs aren’t tied to the ratings like regular commercial channels, they have to air programs that will keep viewers subscribed. Which of their shows will be cancelled or renewed? We’ll have to wait and see.
Scripted Starz shows listed:American Gods, Ash Vs Evil Dead, Becoming Elizabeth, Black Sails, Blunt Talk, BMF, Counterpart, Da Vinci’s Demons, Dangerous Liaisons, Dublin Murders, Gaslit, The Girlfriend Experience, The Gloaming, Heels, Hightown, Minx, The Missing, Now Apocalypse, Outlander, P-Valley, Power, Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Power Book IV: Force, The Rook, Run the World, The Serpent Queen, Shining Vale, The Spanish Princess, Survivor’s Remorse, Sweetbitter, Vida, and The White Princess.
Last update: Most recent ratings added for Minx, Power Book IV: Force, and Heels.
There’s lots of data that Starz execs look at when deciding whether to renew or cancel a TV series. The ratings for initial airings don’t play as large a role as they do on commercial stations but they are still an indication of how popular a show is. Here’s an updated listing of the recent/current primetime scripted shows on Starz.
Note: If you’re not seeing the updated chart, please try reloading the page or view them here and here.
A couple of notes about these charts: These figures are updated automatically as new ratings are released (usually a day or so after the broadcasts). The averages are based on the final national numbers (live plus same day viewing).The demo numbers, which are typically most important to the broadcast networks, aren’t quite as vital to cable channels because their audiences are usually much smaller. Demo numbers are typically reported using the 10ths decimal place (2.4, for example). In the averages, I’m using an extra decimal for easier ranking.
What do you think? Are you surprised by any of the ratings? Which shows should be doing better? Which one do you think will be cancelled next?
Timothée Chalamet can certainly rap, but according to “Wonka” director Paul King, Chalamet’s hidden talent is his classically “beautiful singing voice.”
Oscar-nominated actor Chalamet stars as Willy Wonka in the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” prequel film, which King noted is not a musical while still featuring singing and dancing.
“[Chalamet]’s got a beautiful singing voice,” King told Total Film. “The person it reminded me of was Bing Crosby. There’s quite a range, because it does go from a couple of bigger, showstopper-y sort of things, to moments of real, pure emotion and he can do it all…I’m going to sound like a crazed fan.”
He continued, “The Oompa Loompas sing a lot in the book, and Roald Dahl always uses poetry. But I didn’t want it to just become a musical where people are singing dialogue to each other for no discernible reason. I felt like it was more like a movie with songs than a musical.”
King previously said that Chalamet had the “voice of an angel,” with his triple threat talent inevitably going to “blow people away.”
Sally Hawkins, Keegan-Michael Key, Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman, and Rowan Atkinson also star alongside Chalamet in the film.
“It was a straight offer because he’s great and he was the only person in my mind who could do it,” King told Rolling Stone. “But because he’s Timothée Chalamet and his life is so absurd, his high school musical performances are on YouTube and have hundreds of thousands of views. So I knew from stanning for Timmy Chalamet that he could sing and dance really well.”
He added, “I knew that was in his arsenal, but I didn’t know how good he was. When I spoke to him he was quite keen. He’d done tap dancing in high school and he was like, ‘I’d quite like to show people I can do that.’”
Chalamet will further show off his singing chops in the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.”
Selena Gomez is ready to bid a relationship farewell in her fun new track, “Single Soon.”
“Y’all have been asking for new music for a while,” she wrote on Instagram announcing the Benny Blanco and Cashmere Cat-produced song a week prior to its release, sharing the track’s glamorous cover art. “Since I’m not quite done with SG3, I wanted to put out a fun little song I wrote a while back that’s perfect for the end of summer.”
Gomez hasn’t released a full-length album since 2020’s Rare, though she did drop her all-Spanish EP Revalación the following year.
If you need a guide to follow along with Selena Gomez’s “Single Soon,” find the lyrics below:
Should I do it on the phone? Should I leave a little note In the pocket of his coat? Yeah Maybe I’ll just disappear I don’t wanna see a tear And the weekend’s almost here
I’m picking out this dress Trying on these shoes ‘Cause I’ll be single soon I’ll be single soon I know he’ll be a mess When I break the news But I’ll be single soon I’ll be single soon
I’ma date who I wanna Stay out late if I wanna I’ma do what I wanna do I’m picking out this dress Trying on these shoes ‘Cause I’ll be single soon I’ll be single soon
I know I’m a little high Maintenance, but I’m worth a try Might not give a reason why (oh well) We both had a lot of fun Time to find another one Blame it all on feeling young
I’m picking out this dress Trying on these shoes ‘Cause I’ll be single soon I’ll be single soon I know he’ll be a mess When I break the news But I’ll be single soon I’ll be single soon
I’ma date who I wanna Stay out late if I wanna I’ma do what I wanna do I’m picking out this dress Trying on these shoes ‘Cause I’ll be single soon I’ll be single soon
Yeah, I’ll be single soon (hah-ah) Yeah, I’ll be single soon Yeah, I’ll be single soon (hah-ah) Yeah, I’ll be single soon
I’m picking out this dress Trying on these shoes ‘Cause I’ll be single soon I’ll be single soon I know he’ll be a mess When I break the news But I’ll be single soon I’ll be single soon
I’ma date who I wanna Stay out late if I wanna I’ma do what I wanna do I’m picking out this dress Trying on these shoes ‘Cause I’ll be single soon I’ll be single soon
If there’s one thing you can rely on in this world, it’s that Mission Impossible movies are going to bring in audiences. The latest offering, Dead Reckoning Part One, did achieve its aim and raked in $560 million worldwide. However, it ended up as a flop thanks to its high production costs, with a loss of around $40 million for Paramount Pictures.
Dead Reckoning Part Two is set for release in 2024, and it will have to fix a few of the failures of its predecessor it if is to be a box office sensation.
Dead Reckoning Part One Affected by Barbenheimer
Dead Reckoning had everything that viewers want in a Mission Impossible movie: the star-studded cast, the high octane action, and the incredibly high stakes. The formula was in place for it to be a surefire hit for Paramount. The only thing that the film couldn’t control were external factors in the movie industry. According to The Review Geek, the only reason why the new Mission Impossible failed was because of the Barbenheimer phenomenon.
This was when Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer were released simultaneously. In the lead up to their premieres, a social media storm ensued where people were encouraged to watch the two movies as a double bill. This helped both offerings exceed their box office projections, with Barbie earning more than $1.38 billion and Oppenheimer bringing in over $853 million.
Doesn’t Reflect Badly on Tom Cruise
Despite being a commercial failure, Dead Reckoning Part One was lauded by critics and is considered one of the best entries in the long-running franchise. The overall Rotten Tomatoes score is 96 percent, and the consensus was that the action sequences were the highlight. They helped to raise the stakes higher than ever before and took viewers to new levels of incredulity.
The failure of the picture doesn’t reflect badly on any of the team involved, especially Tom Cruise. As usual, the action star was incredible in his most famous role, and he still got to pick up his paycheck for his performance despite the production company failing to make a profit. According to a Lottoland blog article, the 61-year-old is still the highest paid actor in Hollywood with a net worth of $570 million.
Dead Reckoning Part Two Could Be Even Better
The fact that Dead Reckoning Part One wasn’t a money maker for Paramount shouldn’t be a problem for its sequel’s release. According to a blog post in Esquire, releasing pictures as Part One and Part Two in the modern age is a great tactic for production companies.
The second feature will attract most of the people who saw the first and want to know how the story ends, while it will also have a greater marketing model in place thanks to the reviews of its predecessor.
Paramount Pictures could have never envisioned the Barbenheimer phenomenon, and that’s why Dead Reckoning didn’t do as well as hoped. The second installment is likely to be a much bigger hit.
When outside intelligence officials seek evidence of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, leaving on a trip abroad — like his journey to Russia this week to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin — they always look for the whereabouts of a train painted a drab green.
One such train was spotted on Monday heading north, near where the borders of North Korea, Russia and China meet. It was moving in the direction of Vladivostok, where Mr. Putin is attending an economic forum. On Tuesday, North Korean state media confirmed that Mr. Kim had indeed left Pyongyang, the North’s capital, for Russia by train.
The green train officials look for is the special bulletproof one that Mr. Kim — and his father and grandfather, who ruled North Korea before him — have used to visit China, Russia or the former Soviet Union. Family members were said to lack confidence that they could make a safe long-distance trip using one of their country’s decrepit fleet of old Soviet-era passenger jets.
While much about Mr. Kim’s latest journey remains a mystery, here is what we know about the train:
More powerful than a speeding bullet, but much slower
Much of what is known about the train comes from intelligence reports, recollections of officials permitted to travel on board in previous eras and rare state news media footage.
There are believed to be at least 90 high-security carriages at the leader’s disposal, according to a 2009 South Korea news report that relied on classified information. According to the report, written during the era of Mr. Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, three trains operate each time the leader travels: an advance security train, the leader’s train and a third carrying additional bodyguards and supplies.
Each of the carriages is bulletproof, making them thousands of pounds heavier than average. That additional weight translates to a slow ride. The trains are estimated to reach a maximum speed of just 37 miles per hour.
In Kim Jong-il’s time, according to the 2009 report, 100 security officers traveled in the advance train, searching stations for bombs and other threats and testing the safety of the track. Additionally, military helicopters and airplanes would fly overhead to provide more security.
Twenty train stations have been built across North Korea just for the leader’s personal use, according to the report.
All the comforts of home
North Korea’s state news media occasionally covered the leaders from inside the train, offering a rare glimpse at some of the many specialized cars.
When Kim Jong-un made his first state visit to China in 2018, he met a senior Chinese official who boarded his train in a carriage lined with thick pink sofas.
In 2015, Kim Jong-un was seen seated at a long white table in what appeared to be a conference room. In a similar video from 2011, his father, Kim Jong-il, is seen holding court in the same compartment. In the older video, a flat-screen television is clearly visible, and in the more recent one, a laptop computer can be seen.
In footage of the elder Mr. Kim’s trips, the leader is seen in an audience car with plush seats; leading a meeting in a dining car; and attending a banquet in a car paneled in dark wood. In that footage, Mr. Kim is seated at a table filled with food as entertainers perform in tuxedos and evening gowns.
The former leader’s office car, including a desk and computer, is preserved as a museum exhibit at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, Kim Jong-il’s mausoleum in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.
Lobster, wine and ‘lady conductors’
Kim Jong-il was rumored to have had a fear of flying and preferred to travel on his train, which was outfitted with modern communications technology and a large staff that catered to his whims.
“It was possible to order any dish of Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and French cuisine,” wrote Konstantin Pulikovsky, a Russian official who traveled with the former leader during a 2011 trip through Russia.
Mr. Kim insisted that live lobster and other fresh delicacies be delivered to the train as it crossed Siberia on trips to Russia. Cases of Bordeaux and Burgundy wines were flown in from Paris, Mr. Pulikovsky recounted in his memoir of the trip, “Orient Express.”
When bored, Mr. Kim relied on a group of female entertainers known as lady conductors to serenade him in Korean and Russian.
It is unknown what his son, Kim Jong-un, does for nourishment and entertainment while on board, but the younger Mr. Kim’s appetite is known to rival his father’s. He reportedly prefers Swiss cheese, Cristal Champagne and Hennessy cognac.
Tragedies on the tracks
The train has been at the center of several tragic events in modern North Korean history.
More than 160 people were killed in Ryongchon, near the Chinese border, in April 2004, when trains laden with combustible material exploded because of a collision or an electrical malfunction.
There were initial rumors that the explosion was part of an attempt on Kim Jong-il’s life because the leader’s train had passed through the town hours earlier.
According to the state news media, he would later die aboard his train after a heart attack in December 2011.
After he became leader, Kim Jong-un visited China four times and Vietnam once — all by train. He also visited Russia by train and met Mr. Putin in 2019.
EXCLUSIVE: In the first major acquisition deal on the ground here at the Toronto Film Festlval, Netflix is closing on Woman of the Hour, the fact-based thriller that marks the directing debut of Anna Kendrick. We’re hearing the deal is for $11 million.
While some festival-bound pictures signed SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreements so cast members could make the trip, many didn’t. That’s because signatories especially streamers would not make quick deals on films when they are battling both WGA and SAG-AFTRA on a new deal. Woman of the Hour did not sign the IA, which is why this deal happened in the first weekend of the festival.
Pic tells the stranger-than-fiction story of a young woman who actually won a date on The Dating Game with a man who turned out to be a notorious serial killer. Rodney Alcala was convicted or murdering at least eight women, but investigators believe the number could be as high as 130. The handsome and charming Alcala lured women by posing as a photographer looking for models. He had already been a registered sex offender, and was recently released from prison. Somehow he was accepted on the popular daytime Dating Game, where a woman asked questions of three bachelors that were concealed by a wall.
The contestant, Cheryl Bradshaw (played by Kendrick), chose the killer, but he turned out to be such a creepy stalker that she never went on the date. Daniel Zovatto plays the date from hell. The pic premiered Friday as a Special Presentation at the festival.
Ian McDonald wrote the script and Kendrick produced with Roy Lee, Stephen Crawford, Andrew Deane, J.D. Lifshitz ad Raphael Margules. Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios financed.
CAA Media Finance, Range and AGC Studios made the deal.
It’s easy to measure your life in accomplishments, to look at the accumulation of honors and accolades, of personal and professional victories, and to say, “This accumulation represents empirical success.”
It’s harder to measure your life not necessarily in failures but in potentials left unfulfilled, in half-completed tasks or the stashed items left unused, and to say, “Despite or perhaps even because of this, there is still success.”
Flipside
The Bottom Line
Plucks something very universal from life’s loose ends.
Venue: Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF Docs) Director: Chris Wilcha
1 hour 36 minutes
Chris Wilcha’s new documentary, Flipside, takes on the second challenge to deliver an autobiographical portrait of how a life seemingly of disappointments and failures can be a life well lived. Glimpse Flipside in the wrong moment or from the wrong angle and it can feel a little solipsistic, albeit in a way that will be relatable to many viewers. But taken in totality and with some reflection, it’s a borderline-profound and philosophical expression of satisfaction with everything that is unfinished in life.
Even on paper and without a documentary’s worth of reflection, Wilcha’s life isn’t a failure at all. His first documentary, The Target Shoots First, was acclaimed on the festival circuit and offered a very Gen X look at his youthful attempts to sell out, working for Columbia House in the 1990s. He won an Emmy for helping adapt Ira Glass’ This American Life for TV. Mostly, he’s worked steadily as a commercial director for some of the biggest brands in the world. He seems to have a family suitable for picture frames.
But Wilcha also has piles of hard drives filled with footage from documentaries he never completed, imagined works of art that were shelved for various reasons. All the while, his gainful employment was in glorified marketing. For a storyteller raised in a generation that, at least for a while, found some ideological expression in the no-compromises cynicism of Reality Bites, this feels like disappointment. Wilcha’s father was in marketing and that’s not the path he wanted to follow, even if all signs point to his father being very happy.
The ostensible spine of Flipside is Wilcha’s return to his New Jersey hometown, where he is simultaneously pondering two monuments to the blurred line between collecting and hoarding. There’s his childhood closet, a repository for albums, books, concert shirts and memorabilia of the juvenile he used to be. And then there’s Flip-Side Records & Tapes, a vintage record store where he worked his first job, a struggling repository from a bygone era that’s closer to a museum than a place of retail.
As he struggles to identify the value in his decently organized mess and, through conversations with Flip-Side proprietor Dan and some of Wilcha’s former friends and co-workers, he also goes through footage from some of those unrealized documentaries. And wouldn’t you know it? The values — spiritual, if not financial — all intersect.
Wilcha’s cemetery of truncated projects is an intriguing lot. There are interviews with legendary jazz photographer Herman Leonard — trust me, you know some of his images — conducted shortly before his death. There’s strange material from an Ira Glass touring show in which the host participated in fully choreographed dance numbers.
Then there are the documentaries that could have been started that are adjacent to other unrealized efforts. One of the regular customers at Flip-Side is Uncle Floyd, a television personality and New Jersey icon whose journey has included unexpected connections to Saturday Night Live and David Bowie. Wilcha’s connection to Leonard came through an association with Deadwood creator David Milch, which emerged from Milch’s connection to Judd Apatow, with whom Wilcha worked on a documentary about the making of Funny People. There’s a latticework of editing that joins these unfinished documentaries within Flipside and unites them as facets of Wilcha’s life. The idea that maybe what seem like loose ends from our past are actually plotlines awaiting unexpected resolution is both pleasantly Dickensian and wonderfully uplifting, if you think about it.
You will probably watch Flipside thinking that many of these films, not quite unmade anymore, might be more engaging as a feature than this partial autobiography or the story of a beloved old record store. In particular, the material with Milch, who has Alzheimer’s and is interviewed in conversation with his wife, Rita, and with Apatow, left me hungry for more. That’s also the point. Wilcha thought they would be more engaging as features as well. But the care with which Wilcha uses Milch and Leonard and Uncle Floyd, finding in each of their attitudes and spirits something aspirational without really making it about him, is thoughtful and at times inspiring.
Nobody in Flipside is living exactly the life they dreamt of. Even Apatow, an executive producer here as well, is tied to Wilcha through a movie about the stand-up career he didn’t have. As Leonard puts it, though, “There will always be circumstances.” Whether you overcome those circumstances or adapt to them or find a way to learn from disappointment and move on can be a matter of perspective or determination or luck.
This can be a metaphor for the general pursuit of life, for the specific making of art or for the entirely universal experience of working your way through your clutter and debris and learning to see the treasure in the mess. Maybe you won’t connect with the moments of Flipside that are most about Wilcha, but in 96 minutes, the film makes a case for cobbling something new from whatever your own unused documentary footage equivalent happens to be.
Logline: Lee Tamahori’s action-filled historical epic stars Guy Pearce as Thomas Munro, a newly arrived preacher in a colonial town in early 19th-century New Zealand who finds himself at the centre of a long-standing battle between two Māori tribes.
Sales Agent: Mister Smith Entertainment
Premiere Date: Sept 8, 2023
Panelists: Lee Tamahori, Guy Pearce, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Jacqueline McKenzie
Key Quotes: “Most of the stories [of Māori] deal with the period after this, where there were far more European colonists and Māori were being subjugated and wiped out… this period is when they were dominant, but they were just introduced to the musket and firepower, and gunpowder and all the repercussions of that.” – Lee Tamahori
With the ink still drying on a closely tracked carriage renewal with Charter, Disney execs Dana Walden and Jimmy Pitaro told Deadline in an interview that the agreement’s details suit the current streaming/linear hybrid environment.
The companies announced the settlement earlier today, a bit more than 10 days after their initial clash left 27 networks and ABC stations dark for the 14.7 million subscribers to the No. 2 U.S. cable system. The impasse ended just hours before the regular-season kickoff of Monday Night Football, a highly anticipated matchup between the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.
While financial terms were not divulged, the main deal points had various puts and takes for both sides. Charter gains the right to take a wholesale fee in exchange for offering the ad-supported tier of Disney+ to its estimated 9.5 million Select video subscribers. It also will carry only a “curated” selection of networks, with Freeform, FXX and several other established outlets left without distribution on Spectrum, meaning a lower overall bill for programming. Disney, though, is getting Charter’s distribution muscle to help push its entire DTC portfolio on both a bundled and stand-alone basis, as well as the inclusion of ESPN+ with Charter’s Spectrum TV Select Plus package. And it is understood that the nine ESPN networks at the heart of the dispute secured not only rate increases but penetration minimums, both sticking points earlier in the rift.
Overall, the deal is “indicative of the times that we’re in,” summed up Walden, Co-Chair of Disney Entertainment. Asked about what the slimming-down of the Disney linear portfolio on Spectrum means for traditional networks in the future, she said, “We were prepared to be flexible and deliver the best results for our company.”
As far as viewer impact, while the new arrangement could leave a few gaps for fans of specific shows, Walden reasoned, “A lot of the programming on those channels is windowed to their cable channel siblings” as well as Disney+. Securing a boost for ad-supported Disney+, Walden said, was crucial. “This is the future of our business,” she said. The ad tier, which launched last December, had attracted about 3.3 million subscribers through the end of June. CEO Bob Iger has said the company’s ability to derive revenue both from ads and subscriptions — a double-barreled approach reminiscent of pay-TV — will be key to the company hitting its streaming targets.
As to why Hulu didn’t get integrated into the Spectrum subscriber tiers, unlike other Disney streamers, Walden said the deal still preserves “the ability for subscriber to add Hulu – so felt like there was a way for everyone to achieve their objectives.” A pending unified app interface blending Hulu and Disney+ content will also keep Hulu in the mix as Disney looks to finally close a deal to buy out Comcast’s stake in the streamer.
The last public indicator prior to today’s peace accord left plenty of doubt about whether the parties would ever get on the same page. Charter CEO Chris Winfrey indicated last Thursday that little progress had been made in negotiations, reiterating the company’s outlook that it could wind up “moving on” entirely from the video business. Asked about when the sides dug in to reach a compromise, Pitaro, ESPN’s chairman, replied, “Getting this deal done has always been a priority for us. We’ve been all hands on deck with a singular focus of getting a deal done. … I can’t tell you there was a defining moment. It was more of a gradual meeting of the minds.”
Cord-cutting has ravaged the pay-TV business, with Charter estimating it has lost about 25% of its customers in the past five years alone. Streaming, meanwhile, has an economic model that has not yet proven to be as lucrative as that during the heyday of pay-TV. Disney, meanwhile, has an interesting asset in the mix. It had been pointing customers affected by the outage Hulu + Live TV, its pay-TV service, even rolling out a $30-a-month discount in recent days. Asked how the company’s own pay service fits strategically with efforts to forge partnerships with outside distributors, Walden said, “It is definitely a tool in our arsenal” and signaled that “we were coming to market with Charter in a specific way.”
Added Pitaro, “We wanted a deal that would protected that traditional business model and also enabled us to create new pathways.”
Charter declined to make any of its executives available for additional comment to Deadline. The company’s CFO, Jessica Fischer, is scheduled to speak Wednesday at a BofA Securities conference in New York.
Wall Street appeared to view the settlement as a plus for both Disney and Charter shares, with the latter perking up 1% and the latter rising 3% on heavier-than-normal trading volume.
In a note to clients, MoffettNathanson’s Michael Nathanson scored the outcome a split decision, with pluses for each company but plenty of unknowns. In an appearance last Friday on CNBC, the veteran media analyst had predicted it would be “game over” for the Disney-Charter relationship if a compromise couldn’t be worked out before Monday night’s football game.
“While perhaps not the end of the pay-TV world as we know it, we very much can look back at this Disney/Charter deal as an opening salvo of a broader re-bundling and a step in giving customers smaller linear bundles with increased SVOD functionality,” Nathanson wrote in today’s note.
Michael Morris, an analyst with Guggenheim, was more certain that a compromise solution was likely given the near-term financial stakes. (Charter has pegged the annual value of its Disney carriage deal at $2.2 billion.) “We believe that today’s deal reflects a trade-off from linear economics, but positions both Disney and Charter to drive value amid the shift toward streaming in a digital future,” he wrote in a client note.”
On Oct. 29, 1975, Mike O’Neill, the editor of The Daily News, and Bill Brink, the managing editor, returned from lunch and asked whether President Gerald R. Ford, while addressing the National Press Club in Washington, had agreed to help New York City avoid bankruptcy.
The editors were read the definitive sentence from Ford’s address: “I am prepared to veto any bill that has as its purpose a federal bailout of New York City to prevent a default.”
As I recall — I was a reporter and editor at The Daily News at the time — Brink initially summed up the president’s rejection with what was sometimes quaintly described back then as a two-word barnyard epithet. Then they refined the hulking front page tabloid headline, a cri de coeur that encapsulated Washington’s response to the city’s plight and that would help cost Ford the presidential election the following year, ultimately becoming a metaphor for New York’s resilience: “Ford to City: Drop Dead.”
Those days of urban desolation, despair and painful recovery a half century ago are captured in the forthcoming documentary “Drop Dead City — New York on the Brink in 1975,” which on Monday was awarded the fifth annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film.
“Drop Dead City” was directed by Peter Yost and Michael Rohatyn, a filmmaker and musician who had a unique perspective: It was Michael’s father, Felix G. Rohatyn, an investment banker, who was recruited in 1975 by the heroic Gov. Hugh L. Carey of New York to help stave off the state’s municipal bankruptcy.
Michael Rohatyn was only 12 when his father helped save the city. Perusing the old footage from that time and filming 200 additional hours, he said in an interview, “I was very moved to see his charm and his intellect right there on the surface. I think he would be really proud of the film. He might think there’s not enough of him in it, and he might be right.”
The prize, awarded by The Better Angels Society, the Library of Congress and the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation, and funded by Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine, includes a $200,000 grant for final production and distribution of the film, a sum that, the award-winning documentarian Ken Burns recalled, was more than the entire budget for his first film, on the Brooklyn Bridge, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1982.
“Drop Dead City” serves as a vivid reminder for today’s negativists of how bad the bad old days were. The contrasting scenes are poignant: a theater poster for “Man of La Mancha” — the Impossible Dream — and streets clogged with cabs juxtaposed with the carcasses of burned-out buildings, abandoned skeletal public works, graffiti-shrouded subway cars, and mobs of justifiably choleric municipal workers whose promise of lifetime civil service job security was suddenly jeopardized. Its protagonists were mostly men with long sideburns in smoke-filled rooms, palpably fearful over the uncharted consequences if the city could no longer fool some of the people all of the time to pay its bills.
Who would have first claim? The bondholders from whom the city had borrowed? Or the police officers, firefighters, sanitation workers and teachers on whom New Yorkers depended every day? Or the beneficiaries of public assistance who depended on the city?
And who would bear the blame? Former Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller, whose worthies conceived of “moral obligation” bonds to enable more borrowing for good causes? Former Mayor Robert F. Wagner, who was re-elected in 1961 after granting the unions collective bargaining rights? His successor, John V. Lindsay, undone by the cost of good intentions? Or his successor, Abraham D. Beame, who had warned against fiscal gimmickry when he was the city’s comptroller but sanctioned it anyway by voting for the unbalanced budgets, only to find that the buck stopped with him when he was elected mayor?
And who should bear the brunt of the sacrifice? Public officials had long maintained low mass transit fares, free tuition at City University and other services, and had granted organized labor generous benefits not only to get re-elected, but to preserve the city’s legacy as a global beacon of opportunity. Bankers should have known that the city was selling tax anticipation notes without having the slightest notion of how much tax revenue was anticipated, even as they reaped hefty commissions on each borrowing that sent the city deeper into debt.
“They made the accounting sexy,” Burns said of the filmmakers. “They made the people who get dismissed human and dimensional. The headline became the haiku of the fiscal crisis.”
Hundreds of films were submitted to the Better Angels Society, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to educate Americans about their history through documentaries. It winnowed the submissions to six and presented two to Burns and to Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress. The runner-up was “The Disappearance of Miss Scott,” directed by Nicole London, which recounts the story of the jazz pianist and civil rights pioneer Hazel Scott, who went into exile during the Red Scare of the 1950s.
The mid-1970s evoked by “Drop Dead City” are even more distant from today’s audiences than the ancient history of the 1929 stock market crash was from New Yorkers who lived through the city’s fiscal crisis. But, as Hayden explained, what gives the film vitality and relevance is that “it puts history at the forefront.”
“Drop Dead City” deftly melds archival footage of frustrated and gravely conflicted negotiators, ordinary New Yorkers and aggrieved rank-and-file union members with candid reflections by the surviving protagonists. Unfortunately some, like former Deputy Mayor John Zuccotti, didn’t survive long enough to be interviewed on video. (Zuccotti died a day after the filmmakers spoke with him off-camera.)
Viewers might also have welcomed more of Felix Rohatyn’s pithy observations. (He once likened default to “someone stepping into a tepid bath and slashing his wrists — you might not feel yourself dying, but that’s what would happen.”)
The city came so close to default that a declaration was signed by Mayor Beame’s shaky hand, but never invoked; it later hung in the home office of the New York corporate lawyer Ira Millstein.
Asked at the time, though, whether an agreement with the municipal unions and the State Legislature to fend off bankruptcy would survive, Felix Rohatyn replied: “I don’t give odds any more. I think it has to work.”
But Rohatyn was aware of the costs, predicting that the sacrifices inflicted to satisfy the banks and the Ford administration would mean that even if New York survived, “this city will be a much lesser place.”
Yost, the film’s co-director, explained why, even though New York remains very much alive, “Drop Dead City” is still very relevant.
“Intellectually, it’s resonant at a time when we’re all at each other’s throats,” he said. “That was a moment when it could have gotten ugly and rude like New York, but seemingly irreconcilable things came together to keep the city from going over a cliff. To me that holds a lot of lessons for us today.”
For the first time in the MCU’s history, Marvel Studios put an entire season of a Disney+ series up on YouTube so that fans can enjoy it from start to finish for free.
Disney and Marvel are no strangers to using YouTube to connect with MCU fans, with analytics showing just how popular some of the franchise’s biggest moments are – even from trailers.
Marvel Studios uploaded the first season of the I Am Groot Disney+ show onto YouTube in its entirety for free, allowing fans to catch up on the animated series following the debut of its second season. You can watch the episodes below…
The Little Guy puts Baby Groot in a unique position as the biggest being around, finding a civilization of tiny beings that view the walking tree as their hero.
Groot’s Pursuit has the titular character investigating a disturbance aboard the Guardians of the Galaxy’s ship, coming face to face with a mysterious goo and even engaging in his own dance-off battle.
Looking to take a bath and relax in Groot Takes a Bath, Baby Groot churns out his own personal spa day with some crazy hijinks that end in a battle with a colorful woodland creature.
With I Am Groot Season 1 only being about 16 minutes in total for all five shorts, this release will give more fans access to check the series out before it continues.
This new entry will also serve as a step in a new direction for the MCU, as it will be the first Guardians-centric project to not feature James Gunn as the director or writer following his move to DC Studios.
Zac Efron is an American actor who began his career in the early 2000s with guest roles on several television series including Firefly, ER, and The Guardian. After his career took off with his leading role as Troy Bolton in the High School Musical trilogy, Efron starred in several other teen-oriented films including Hair Spray and 17 Again.
Zac Efron has had a long string of successful television shows since he began acting. Efron starred as Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile and also has a documentary on Netflix called Down to Earth with Zac Efron. Here are Zac Efron’s 10 best movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
10 High School Musical 3: Senior Year – 64%
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
High School Musical 3: Senior Year is the third installment of the High School Musical film series. The sequel follows Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and Gabriella Montez, who are high school sweethearts that are struggling with the idea of being separated from one another after graduation as they are about to head off to college.
Troy wants to attend the nearby University of Albuquerque on a basketball scholarship, however, Gabriella wants to attend Stanford University in California. Meanwhile, Sharpay, a shallow and spoiled rich girl, attempts to go all out planning the school’s final musical show. The Wildcats, Troy, and Gabriella stage a spring musical to address their experiences, hopes, and fears about their future.
9 Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising – 64%
Universal Pictures
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising is the sequel to the 2014 film, Neighbors. The film centers around Mac Radner and Kelly Radner, who are expecting their second child and are preparing to sell their home to the Baiers family. The Radner’s realtor reminds Mac and Kelly that the house is in escrow for 30 days so the Baiers will check in occasionally to make sure everything is going to plan.
Meanwhile, a group of unruly freshmen girls of Kappa Nu moves next door to Mac and Kelly. With the loud parties threatening the sale of their home, Mac and Kelly turn to Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron) to help. Their old enemy and ex-neighbor help devise schemes to get the wild sorority girls off the block, however, the women refuse to go down without a fight.
8 Gold – 65%
Madman Entertainment
Gold is a 2022 Australian survival thriller film that was directed by Anthony Hayes. Two drifters Virgil (Zac Efron) and Keith are traveling through the desert when they stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found. Dreams of immense wealth and greed take over, and they make a plan to secure the necessary tools.
After the duo fails to extract the gold with their basic tools and truck, Keith suggests one of them stay with the gold while the other finds an excavator. Virgil argues that he should be the one to stay with the gold instead since he found it. Keith then leaves Virgil with his remaining supplies and sets out to find an excavator. While Keith is gone, Virgil begins to deteriorate both physically and mentally.
7 High School Musical – 67%
Disney Channel
High School Musical is a musical television film that was directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The film follows Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez, who are two completely different teenagers who meet while they are singing karaoke at a New Year’s Eve party. Troy is the basketball team captain and Gabriella is academically gifted and joins the scholastic decathlon team.
After returning to school after a break, Troy sees Gabriella in his homeroom, and she explains to him that she is a new student there who has transferred from Albuquerque New Mexico. The two of them become close friends and accidentally audition for the school musical. When both Troy and Gabriella receive callbacks, Sharpay becomes furious.
6 Liberal Arts – 71%
IFC Films
Liberal Arts is a comedy-drama film that was written and directed by Josh Radnor. The film follows a 35-year-old named Jesse Fisher, an admissions officer at a New York City post-secondary institution, who has a romantic relationship with a 19-year-old college student, Zibby.
Jesse is invited to the retirement dinner of his second-favorite Ohio University college professor, Peter Hoberg. While at the retirement dinner, Jesse encounters Nat (Zac Efron), a free spirit who navigates life at the institution on his own terms.
Later, Zibby invites Jesse back to campus, hinting that she has feelings for him. Jesse has concerns about the 16-year age gap but agrees, and the two spend time together and kiss. However, Peter sees them together and encourages Jesse to date women his own age.
5 Neighbors – 73%
Universal Pictures
Neighbors is a comedy film that was directed by Nicholas Stoller and written by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien. The film stars Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, and Rose Byrne with supporting roles from Dave Franco and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
Mac and Kelly are attempting to adjust to life with their infant daughter, Stella. When frat brothers move into the house next door, conflict arises when the noise from the fraternity doesn’t stop. Teddy (Zac Efron) is the President, and Pete is his right-hand man. Mac asks Teddy if they can lower the fraternity’s noise and even accepts an invitation to a party one evening.
However, when Teddy goes back on his word about keeping the partying down, Mac calls the police to deal with the problem. The police blame Mac for their presence, and an all-out war begins.
4 High School Musical 2 – 83%
Disney Channel
High School Musical 2 is the second installment of the High School Musical film series. The film stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, and Monique Coleman.
Troy lands a job in a wealthy country club owned by Sharpay and Ryan’s family and ends up landing jobs for Gabriella, Chad, Taylor, and the entire Wildcats basketball team. When Troy is introduced to Sharpay’s parents, Troy realizes that Sharpay can help him with many opportunities and even a basketball scholarship.
Meanwhile, Troy starts hanging out with a different crowd and Chad worries that Troy will forget his friends while Gabriella feels as though she is losing Troy to Sharpay.
3 Me and Orson Welles – 86%
Warner Bros. Pictures
Me and Orson Welles is a drama film directed by Richard Linklater and is based on Robert Kaplow’s novel. The story is set in New York in 1937 and is about a teenager who is hired to perform in Orson Welles’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar who becomes attracted to a career-driven production assistant.
Richard Samuels (Zac Efron) takes a day trip to New York City and meets Gretta Adler where they begin a friendship based on their shared love and goal as a professional in the creative arts. While on this trip, Richard comes across the Mercury Theatre and meets Orson Welles who offers Richard an acting job as Lucius in his modern retelling of Julius Caesar.
2 The Disaster Artist- 91%
A24
The Disaster Artist is a biographical comedy-drama film that stars, co-produced, and was directed by James Franco. The film follows an unlikely friendship between aspiring actors Tommy Wiseau and Sestero that results in the production of Wiseau’s 2003 film The Room, which was considered one of the worst films ever made. The film stars brothers James and Dave Franco as Wiseau and Sestero, respectively.
Aspiring actor Greg Sestero befriends the eccentric Tommy Wiseau. The two travel to L.A., and when Hollywood rejects them, Tommy decides to write, direct, produce, and star in their own movie. During the making of their film, Tommy is impressed with Dan’s (Zac Efron) intensity during the scene where Chris violently presses Denny for money owed to him.
1 Hairspray- 92%
New Line Cinemea
Hairspray is a musical romantic comedy film that is based on the 2002 Broadway musical. The film was directed and choreographed by Adam Shankman and has an ensemble cast including John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, Zac Efron, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, Elijah Kelley, Allison Janney, and Nikki Blonsky.
In the 1960s, Tracy Turnblad an optimistic dance-loving teen auditions for a spot on “The Corny Collins Show” and gets the part. Several of the teenagers on The Corny Collins Show attend Tracy and Penny’s high school. Tracy is particularly star-struck whenever she catches the sight of Link Larkin (Zac Efron), the show’s main lead who is also Amber Von Tussle’s boyfriend.
, data from NewsWhip showed that engagement on public posts linked to the New York Times website has dropped dramatically since late July. This is seemingly a unique issue to the NYT as other news organizations like CNN, the Washington Post, and the BBC have not seen similar dips in engagement.
According to the report, the New York Times’ reach hasn’t changed on Facebook and other social media platforms. Additionally, recent tweets by former President Barack Obama that include NYT links saw less engagement when compared to his other tweets. For example, when Obama shared articles about healthcare costs, his posts reached fewer than 800,000 users. Most of his posts reach a minimum of 10 million users.
While it’s unclear what exactly is causing the drop in user reach, this wouldn’t be the first time Elon Musk’s X appeared to be affecting user engagement. In August, X to be interfering with links to Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads, Substack and of course—the New York Times, to make them load noticeably slower. At the time, it appeared that the high-profile websites affected were only big names that Musk publicly attacked in the past.
X and The New York Times could not be immediately reached for comment.
In a first for the burgeoning realm of alternate live sports telecasts, an upcoming NFL game will be adapted in real time as a fully animated contest taking place in the Toy Story universe.
The October 1 game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons is billed as Toy Story Funday Football. It will kick off on Disney+ and ESPN+ at 9:30 a.m. ET, an early start because it is part of the NFL’s annual series of international games, taking place at London’s Wembley Stadium. Already, the game will be a streaming affair, with the main broadcast appearing on ESPN+, one of the streaming exclusives provided for as part of media companies’ $110 billion rights renewal with the NFL. The Falcons-Jaguars game will also stream on NFL+.
Using the NFL’s Next Gen Stats and on-field tracking data, every player and play will be presented in “Andy’s Room,” the familiar, brightly colored setting for the Toy Story franchise. The action will be virtually simultaneous with the main game telecast, with most plays recreated after an expected delay in the neighborhood of about 30 seconds. Woody, Buzz Lightyear and many other characters will be visible throughout, and a press release notes they will be “participating from the sidelines and in other non-gameplay elements.” Along with game action, the announcers, graphics, scoreboard, referees’ penalty announcements, celebrations and other parts of the experience will all be rendered in a Toy Story-centric fashion. (For a glimpse of how it will look, check out the video above.)
At halftime, Duke Caboom — the motorcycle daredevil voiced by Keanu Reeves in Toy Story 4 — will attempt a jump.
Alternate telecasts, especially those with computer graphics enhancements designed to hook younger viewers have increasingly been a staple of the sports TV landscape. This NFL season will see another milestone for the trend as the Super Bowl in February gets “slimed” in a Nickelodeon-skewed complement to the main game broadcast on CBS. Disney has mined its own properties in recent years, presenting such offerings as a Marvel-themed NBA game, but the fully animated nature of the Toy Story game is new. ESPN helped popularize the concept of alternative telecasts with the success of Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli, which is starting its third season.
Along with ESPN, the Toy Story event will be produced with contributions from ESPN’s Edge Innovation Center, Disney, the NFL, Pixar, Next Gen Stats, Beyond Sports, and Silver Spoon.
In the U.S., Toy Story Funday Football will be available live on Disney+ and ESPN+, with replay available shortly after the game ends on Disney+ for a limited time. Globally, it will be available in more than 95 markets live and/or replay.
TIFF CEO, Cameron Bailey, is excited to announce that filmmaker Ava DuVernay will return to TIFF with her latest offering, Origin. DuVernay’s film will have a Gala screening at Roy Thomson Hall on Monday, September 11th. DuVernay will be in attendance.
Written, produced, and directed by Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay, Origin chronicles the remarkable life and work of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson (played by Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) as she investigates the genesis of injustice and uncovers a hidden truth that affects us all.
Origin stands as a unique account of the intimacy within a writer’s quest for truth. DuVernay creates powerful cinematic images from the stories that Wilkerson brought to light in her non-fiction work Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, as well as the tragic moments of her personal life which framed her writing. It results in a deeply moving portrait of grief and healing — both personally and in the world.
“Ava DuVernay’s Origin is a brilliantly crafted showcase of her talent as a writer, producer, and director. This is audacious filmmaking on a grand, global scale,” said Bailey, “DuVernay deftly weaves Isabel Wilkerson’s big idea about how we live into a beautiful narrative of passion and discovery. I can’t wait for Toronto audiences to feel its power.”
Paul Garnes and DuVernay produced Origin under her ARRAY Filmworks banner, and Thane Watkins serves as co-executive producer.
Along with Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Jon Bernthal, Origin stars Niecy Nash-Betts, Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald, Nick Offerman, Blair Underwood, Connie Nielsen, Emily Yancy, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Finn Wittrock, Victoria Pedretti, Isha Blaaker, and Myles Frost. The team of artists behind Origin was led by cinematographer Matthew J. Lloyd, ASC, production designer Ina Mayhew, editor Spencer Averick A.C.E, composer Kris Bowers, costume designer Dominique Dawson, and casting director Aisha Coley.
Tickets for Origin go on sale Monday, September 4 at 10 AM ET. Check tiff.net for more information.
Alexander Payne brought his 1970-set dramedy The Holdovers to the Toronto Film Festival on Monday, and earned a rapturous ovation from the Princess of Wales Theatre audience on Monday.
But the Sideways director expressed sadness that he had come on stage alone and without his principal cast, led by Paul Giamatti and newcomer Dominic Sessa, owing to Hollywood actors strike restrictions. “It is, of course, heartbreaking that the actors and the screenwriter can’t be with us,” Payne said.
In The Holdovers, Giamatti plays a curmudgeonly private school instructor at a New England prep school who forms an unlikely bond with Angus Tully, a damaged, brainy troublemaker played by Sessa. Also unable to appear on stage is screenwriter David Hemingson, who also produces alongside Mark Johnson and Bill Block.
Payne added he told Sessa, a first-time actor fresh out of drama school, that he had been “deprived” of the immediacy of seeing a film festival audience watch his breakout performance, much as musicians and stage actors can connect with their audience.
During the post-screening Q&A, Payne explained casting Giamatti was a given to play the prep school instructor, but finding a young actor to play Angus Tully was a bigger challenge. He said 800 submissions for the role came in, and Payne viewed around 60 digital auditions, but without success.
So he and casting director Susan Shopmaker decided to call up the drama departments of the schools where they were set to shoot the prep school dramedy. “And there he (Sessa) was, at Deerfield Academy… He’d never been in front of a camera. He starred in the drama department, a real ham,” Payne recalled.
Many Payne movies have screened in Toronto, but The Holdovers also marks a return to TIFF as Focus Features nabbed the worldwide rights to the Miramax pic, excluding the Middle East last year as the movie played as part of an informal market and outside the main festival lineup.
The Toronto Film Festival continues through to Sept. 17.
Two things that I think are very important to discuss are better heard than written so I would like to kindly direct you to today’s Daily Roundup, and that is Kaitlyn talking about the breakup with Jason, as she gives us a reason to why it happened. And also what Arie said in his IG stories earlier this week regarding the Maui fires and what he wants to do to help. Although I’m guessing it’s not a reason that will be suitable for most people that want/need everything to be about tea and salacious rumors. Her answer is straight forward and, frankly, boring – but it’s their reality. Just because it’s not what you’d like her answer to be and you want something more juicy doesn’t mean it’s not true. I suggest to everyone that any opinion you have on their breakup you just keep to yourselves or within your inner circle in a text chain or whatever. You don’t need to express it publicly on either Kaitlyn or Jason’s page, or even behind a screen name on any site, because that’s something they could ultimately end up seeing/reading. Keep it to yourself. It’s their life and their breakup. As for Arie, I don’t agree with what he posted on his IG stories on Monday and I hope we get a little more transparency about what he’s doing. Because where he left it at Monday is quite head scratching. Hopefully he’ll clarify more going forward. And I really hope he’s not going to Maui with Lauren on Friday to scout/purchase land which seems to be a big issue happening right now.
Anyway, you can listen to more of my thoughts on those two topics on today’s podcast on a number of platforms, but you can also tune in by clicking the player below:
A couple things that would’ve been in yesterday’s column if I didn’t fall asleep yesterday morning after posting the podcasts…
Did you see the sign in the audience Monday night held by one of the people? “Charity I have your Clarity?” Who made that? What does it mean? And for someone sitting at home who doesn’t realize the audience doesn’t bring their own signs and they are given to them by production, that makes it even more ridiculous. So an oblivious fan sitting at home sees someone in the audience who thinks they have Charity’s clarity based on what? What did that person do? What do they know? Are they going to share it with her? And how do we know it’s right? My point being, these signs that production makes for the audience at all the Tell Alls are laughable. They look made by a 6th grader and then their phrases are something even a 4th grader would come up with. I get they want to make them lighthearted and fun. But at least make them make sense.
I understand why this show brings back alumni to their Tell All shows or brings them down to Mexico to be part of dates, or to even bring date cards on the Bachelor or the Bachelorette. But Monday night was a little different. You had Trista, DeAnna, and Desiree showing up to support Charity. There’s nothing wrong with that per se. But it’s kind of random to have the 1st, 4th, and 9th Bachelorettes come out for the 20th Bachelorette. My guess is Charity had never met or spoken to any of those women before that day. I understand that it doesn’t help matters when the previous three black Bachelorettes that you had basically want nothing to do with the show anymore. You essentially ran Michelle out of the franchise when you took her off Bachelor Happy Hour, probably stemming from how she called you out for not having Erich speak about black face on his ATFR. Rachel Lindsay would rather gouge her eyes out with a pencil then want anything to do with your show. And Tayshia hasn’t seemed to do anything related to this show since you removed her and Kaitlyn has hosts after Michelle’s season. Nothing wrong with bringing Trista, DeAnna, and Desiree out. But lets be real here, it’s not like they have any sort of connection to Charity other than holding the same position as she did – over 10 years ago. Weird choice.
Suzana at @BachelorData has your latest statistics on the “Men Tell All” in case you missed them…
Folks online are calling out Drew Barrymore and slamming her over the decision to start production back up for her daytime talk show “The Drew Barrymore Show” despite the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes.
“Drew Barrymore’s writers are outside the studio picketing while she continues without them, she’s ‘writing’ the show (most likely with some help) so effectively scabbing, and anyone with a WGA pin or shirt is being removed from the audience? This is villain s–t,” journalist and TV writer Alex Zaragoza.
Drew Barrymore’s writers are outside the studio picketing while she continues without them, she’s “writing” the show (most likely with some help) so effectively scabbing, and anyone with a WGA pin or shirt is being removed from the audience? This is villain shit.
Their words came after Barrymore announced her show would start production back up.
“I made a choice to walk away from the MTV, film and television awards because I was the host and it had a direct conflict with what the strike was dealing with which was studios, streamers, film, and television,” Barrymore said in an Instagram post. “It was also in the first week of the strike and so I did what I thought was the appropriate thing at the time to stand in solidarity with the writers. And to be clear, our talk show actually wrapped on April 20th so we never had to shut down the show. However, I am also making the choice to come back for the first time in this strike for our show, that may have my name on it but this is bigger than just me.
“I own this choice,” she added. “We are in compliance with not discussing or promoting film and television that is struck of any kind. We launched live in a global pandemic. Our show was built for sensitive times and has only functioned through what the real world is going through in real time. I want to be there to provide what writers do so well, which is a way to bring us together or help us make sense of the human experience. I hope for a resolve for everyone as soon as possible. We have navigated difficult times since we first came on air. And so I take a step forward to start season 4 once again with an astute humility.”
While that announcement was probably enough already to ruffle some feathers, the news that Barrymore fans wearing WGA buttons were being removed from the audience seemed to have only made it worse. However, Barrymore said she was totally “unaware” that fans were having that experience and expressed her regret.
“It is our policy to welcome everyone to our show tapings,” a spokesperson for “The Drew Barrymore Show” told TheWrap on Monday. “Due to heightened security concerns today, we regret that two audience members were not permitted to attend or were not allowed access. Drew was completely unaware of the incident and we are in the process of reaching out to the affected audience members to offer them new tickets.”
Nevertheless, fans online haven’t held back any of their thoughts — good, bad or ugly. Here’s what people have to say about Drew Barrymore and her show’s return amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
The @DrewBarrymoreTV Show is a WGA covered, struck show that is planning to return without its writers. The Guild has, and will continue to, picket struck shows that are in production during the strike. Any writing on “The Drew Barrymore Show” is in violation of WGA strike rules.
Do you understand facts and real life? a statement from SAG-AFTRA, “The Drew Barrymore Show’ is produced under the Network Television Code which is a separate contract and is not struck. It is permissible work and Drew’s role as host does not violate the current strike rules.”
Drew Barrymore is hurting hundreds of thousands of workers and throwing away her reputation for the rest of time so her talk show can come back a few months early. Truly a masterclass in bad decision making.
By going back on the air without her writers, Drew Barrymore is 100% ensuring that *someone* — either herself, one of her non-writing producers, or all of the above — will be doing the writing work that WGA writers normally do.
Is there an upside to Drew Barrymore’s decision to film her show? She’s enemy number one on the internet today. And I don’t know if people are gonna forget anytime soon.
I’ve looked up to Drew Barrymore since I was old enough to know who she was (4 maybe?). As someone who hopes to be part of WGA and SAG-AFTRA one day, I’m sad. I hope she has a change of heart and will stand with her writers again.
It was most recently announced that Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion will reunite for a debut performance of their just-released single, “Bongos,” while Bacardi is sponsoring a show-stopping finale featuring some of hip hop’s most iconic tracks performed by DMC, Doug E. Fresh, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, LL COOL J, Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj.
Minaj is also returning to the VMAs stage this year as both the evening’s emcee and for a performance of her new single, “Last Time I Saw You.” It’s the second consecutive year that the 40-year-old “Barbie World” rapper will host and perform after serving in the same role for the 2022 show. Throughout her impressive career, Minaj has racked up 25 VMA nominations, including the six she has at this year’s show, and six wins. Her first VMAs appearance was in 2012.
On top of these artists, Olivia Rodrigo is returning for a special performance at this year’s ceremony after her 2021 debut.
And in addition to the the hip hop tribute, Lil Wayne, a nominee this year for Best Hip Hop, will make a long-awaited return to the VMAs stage with his first performance at the show in more than a decade. The rapper will perform his new single, “Kat Food,” live for the first time.
The list of 2023 MTV Video Music Awards performances does not stop there. MTV revealed Anitta, Doja Cat, Kelsea Ballerini, and TOMORROW X TOGETHER will take the stage for their own performances inside New Jersey’s Prudential Center.
On top of that, Demi Lovato, Karol G, Måneskin, and Stray Kids are set to entertain viewers across the country during the VMAs.
Lovato returns for her first VMAs performance in six years, which comes mere days before she drops her highly anticipated new album, REVAMPED. The new album features rock versions of her hit songs, including the recently released rock versions of “Confident,” “Heart Attack,” “Cool for the Summer” and “Sorry Not Sorry,” featuring Slash. The award-winning singer has previously been nominated 14 times and is up for two categories this year: Best Pop and Video for Good.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
Taking a break from her first-ever stadium tour, Karol G will make her debut on the MTV VMAs stage and compete for her first win in three categories, including Artist of the Year.
Måneskin makes their return after their history-making win for Best Alternative last year. This time around, the globally dominating rockers set their much-anticipated return to the storied MTV stage for the world premiere performance of their forthcoming new single, “HONEY (ARE YOU COMING?),” dropping Sept. 1. The group is also up for Best Rock, again setting records as the first Italian act to be nominated for two consecutive years in a main show category.
Global K-Pop mavens Stray Kids will also be making their debut, marking their first time performing at the VMAs with the U.S. broadcast premiere of “S-CLASS,” off their latest record-breaking #1 album, 5-STAR. The group is in the running to claim their first MTV Moon Person for Best K-Pop, the same category which earned them their first VMAs nomination last year.
The annual awards show will also feature a slew of celebrity presenters, including Bebe Rexha, Charli D’Amelio, Coco Jones, Dixie D’Amelio, Emily Ratajkowski, French Montana, GloRilla, Ice Spice, Jared Leto, Madelyn Cline, Rita Ora and Sabrina Carpenter.
Kevin Winter/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
MTV previously revealed the nominees for this year’s festivities, with Taylor Swift leading the pack with an impressive eight nominations and SZA following up with six total nominations. Doja Cat, Kim Petras, Miley Cyrus, Minaj, Rodrigo and Sam Smith trail close behind with five noms each.
Additionally, this year’s VMAs will also see a record-setting 35 first-time nominees, including GloRilla, Ice Spice, Metro Boomin, Peso Pluma, PinkPantheress, Reneé Rapp, and many others.
While many awards shows recruit critics to determine winners, MTV puts the power in the public’s hands to decide who is the best of the best for the year.
Fans can find out who reigns supreme when the 2023 VMAs air Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m. ET on MTV. And follow along at ETonline.com for full coverage from this year’s VMAs, including the complete list of the nominees and the night’s big winners.
Directors Andres Alegria and Abel Sanchez share their journey to creating A Song for Cesar, an ode to the farmworkers’ movement and Cesar Chavez.
Abel Sanchez, Cheech Marin and Andres Alegria.
In 2006, a friend asked me to meet Abel Sanchez, a well-known San Francisco musician, to talk about creating a music video for a new recording called “Song for Cesar.” The video led to a DVD release distributed by the Cesar Chavez Foundation and a decision to dig deeper into the stories of the musicians and artists who supported the farmworkers’ movement during the 1960s and 70s. Abel and I launched into a 15 year labor of love, interviewing dozens of artists and activists who told us their stories about playing music, painting murals, doing skits on top of flatbed trucks in the fields of Central California, all in support of the struggle of the farmworkers for fair wages and working conditions.
I was producing radio shows in the 1970s and had covered Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers’ movement, among other issues. I had also produced music shows and I knew that people have always used music and art to illuminate various aspects of their lives, including social realities such as poverty and violence. The arts have inspired social movements and, in turn, artists have taken inspiration from the struggles that people engage in.
The farmworkers’ movement of the 60s and 70s sparked a huge cultural blossoming. Abel and I had been witnesses to this history and as cultural workers, once the inspiration hit us, we had to make this film. As people today – especially young people – join movements to make our lives safer and more fulfilling and our world a fairer and better place, they can benefit from the fundamental lesson of this film, “Beware of a movement that sings.”
—Andres Alegria, Film Editor • Producer • Community Activist
On the set of “A Song For Cesar”
After writing and recording “Song for Cesar” with Jorge Santana, and after joining forces with Andres Alegria, I was inspired, encouraged and moved to further explore the legacy of Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers’ movement. The inspiration resulted in a commitment that began a 15-year journey of making this film. The dream was that in some way this film would serve to educate, inspire and motivate current and future generations to think about social justice and what they might be able to do in their own lives. Diversity, inclusion and social justice have always been a part of my previous work as a diversity development and affirmative action professional. Taking on the making of this film was an easy fit because of my own experience and growing up as a Mexican American in the United States.
I related to the plight and struggles that farmworkers faced and, in many ways, still do.
I knew how important Cesar was to the farmworkers and their families and, as Andres and I filmed interviews with more and more artists, I was deeply moved by the courage and sacrifice this legacy contained. As the film progressed, being a songwriter and musician myself, I started to see and hope we were beginning to create a film that would inspire young songwriters and artists to think about what they might be able to do with their art, perhaps contributing to society much like the artists featured in this film so eloquently and beautifully did. In my own case, just as Chuy Varela so eloquently quoted, “You can learn the truth from a song.” Personally, I learned many truths in the making of A Song for Cesar.
