Shah Rukh Khan injured; Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani trailer out
From Shah Rukh Khan being hospitalised after meeting with an accident to Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh’s much-awaited film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani’s trailer release, here are the biggest headlines of the day.
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan reportedly met with an accident in the US and hurt his nose. He has now undergone a minor surgery for it. E-Times reported that the Pathaan actor was shooting for one of his upcoming projects when he met with a minor accident on the sets in Los Angeles. However, King Khan is now back in India and is recovering.
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani trailer: Days after superstar Shah Rukh Khan dropped the teaser of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Karan Johar has released the trailer of the film and it looks promising. Starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in the lead, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani offers a family drama we’ve all been craving for years now. The film also stars veteran actors like Shabana Azmi, Dharmendra and Jaya Bachchan, who play Rocky and Rani’s grandparents.
After almost a decade, Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani are reuniting for another massive entertainer. Reportedly, the duo are in talks for a biopic. If the movie comes through, this will be the director-actor duo’s third outing after the success of 3 Idiots (2009), PK (2014). A source close to the production house informed Pinkvilla that, Hirani has recently narrated a script to Aamir which has got him all ‘excited’. Most likely, the upcoming project will be a biopic.
Salman Khan has reportedly reached out to Sanjay Leela Bhansali after the failure of his last movie Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. Rumours are rife that Salman Khan wants to experiment with his image and work on fresh subjects instead of usual action films.As per a report in KoiMoi.com, Salman, who is known for his big heart, has also decided to stop doing films as “a goodwill gesture or overloading the cast with favour-seeking strugglers.” The actor is reportedly look for “the right scripts”.
After months of speculation, Tamannaah Bhatia recently admitted to dating Vijay Varma. Tamannaah revealed that their relationship began on the sets of Lust Stories 2 “organically”. Lust Stories 2 marks the first collaboration between Tamannaah and Vijay. Now, Tamannaah has opened up about her relationship with her Lust Stories 2 co-star and why she chose Vijay as her partner. “I cannot enter any equation where women are expected to compromise on their most basic feelings,” she told Mojo Story.
Aditi Giri, Senior Sub-Editor at News18. She is a Bollywood and Biryani enthusiast. She loves talking to your favourite BTown celebrities, and brings …Read More
Murray’s role was a big mystery going into the franchise’s third entry. Eventually, audiences learned that the iconic actor was playing a fringe comic character named Krylar—one who didn’t even make it very far into the film
In a previous interview, Ant-Man 3 actress Katy O’Brian shared details on how at one point in the film’s development, instead of being killed off, Bill Murray’s character “did a whole space pursuit and then wound up with Kang.”
The Lost Bill Murray Ant-Man Scenes
The Japanese Twitter page for Marvel Studios revealed a new behind-the-scenes look at Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, and with it, a glimpse at Bill Murray’s deleted scenes.
The first new clip takes place during an alternate version of the scene between Scott Lang, Kang, MODOK, and Cassie.
Marvel
The new featurette shows Murray’s Krylar standing on what seems to be the same platform, with both MODOK and Kang behind him.
Marvel
The video then sees Murray throw a mystery alien off the cliff.
This seems to happen before Kang sends Paul Rudd’s hero to get the villain’s Multiversal core.
Marvel
The second brief new clip shows another version of Katy O’Brian’s Jentorra’s big prison break.
Marvel
At one point and time, Krylar was part of the same prison scene, but it’s unclear what the character would‘ve been doing.
Either way, Murray living that long certainly wouldn’t present a significantly different version of Quantumania.
Marvel
The entire clip can be seen below:
Shrinking Bill Murray’s Quantumania Role
It’s truly a shame that Bill Murray’s role was shrunk so much. Knowing how he actually shot more significant scenes, which were then completely scrapped, makes it hurt even more.
While it’s hard to imagine that Krylar’s fate would’ve changed the movie enough to alter its divisiveness amongst critics and fans, more Murray couldn’t be a bad thing.
In the same interview where she revealed details about Bill Murray’s cut scenes, Actress Katy O’Brian made mention of Marvel Studios “adding stuff to the script until the last day of shooting.”
At the end of the day, Marvel Studios could find any number of reasons to bring back Bill Murray’s Krylar in a future project—even if for just another quick Multiverse gag.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is now streaming on Disney+.
James Gunn elaborates on why Superman: Legacy will not feature Clark Kent’s origin story for the DC Universe reboot. The DCEU is finishing its run after ten years to pave the way for the new DC Universe from DC Studios, with Gunn and Peter Safran running it as co-CEOs. Superman: Legacy will properly be the film to kick off Chapter 1, “Gods and Monsters,” with several other DC Universe movies and shows also currently in development.
While Superman: Legacy will be a fresh start for the Man of Steel, Gunn has previously talked about not doing a Superman origin story. The CEO (via @HomeOfDCU) has now expanded on why they are not focusing on telling Clark’s backstory in the movie, as he took to Bluesky to disclose more thoughts on the matter.
This comes shortly after DC Studios made it official that David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan as Superman and Lois Lane, respectively. Superman: Legacy, which still has several other characters left to cast, is currently on track to start shooting in 2024.
How Skipping Clark Kent’s Origin Story Helps Superman: Legacy Standout
When it comes to Superman’s origin story, his journey to becoming a superhero has, without a doubt, been retold several times more than most DC characters. Superman: The Movie and Man of Steel both explored how Clark discovered his Kryptonian heritage and became the world’s greatest protector. But in general, Superman’s origin story is also, at this point, so well-known that it doesn’t really benefit Superman: Legacy to have to find another way of retelling it.
There is also the fact that Smallville, a show which ran for a full decade, also focused on exploring how Clark became Superman. With various live-action Superman movies and TV shows having already gone as deep as they can with Clark’s days before becoming a superhero, Superman: Legacy is clearly taking some inspiration from The Batman and Superman & Lois, which both focus on the heroes already being established.
However, that doesn’t mean that Superman: Legacy can’t reference things that happened in Clark’s life before he suited up. Future Superman: Legacy sequels could also potentially include flashbacks if there are crucial moments from Clark’s life that serve more of a purpose for the DC Universe. Hopefully, Gunn will have more details to share about Superman: Legacy and where he is taking the reboot sooner rather than later.
Every year, the Fortnite summer event becomes one of the game’s biggest and most beloved attractions, and this year’s Summer Escape event may result in more of that same fervor. With many free cosmetics to earn from event challenges, two new breezy skins coming to the shop, a bonus reward for Fortnite Crew members, and some island makeovers, here’s everything you need to know about Fortnite Summer Escape.
Map change: Sunswoon Lagoon
In the thick of this season’s jungle biome, a new temporary party headquarters has cropped up. Sunswoon Lagoon will be present on the island until the event ends on July 18. While much of the season has been built on opening seemingly ancient vaults and introducing the Transformers to Forntite’s catch-all mythos, loopers look primed to take it easy for a few days.
Gameplay changes: Ice cream buffs and fireworks flare gun return
If you’ve participated in past summer events in Fortnite, you’re likely familiar with the ice cream cone items, a lineup of different flavors that grant heals and other buffs, like low-gravity jumping. The full freezer of flavors returns in the form of Normal Ice Cream Cone, Frozen Ice Cream Cone, Guzzling Ice Cream Cone, Spicy Ice Cream Cone, and LiL Whip’s Special Serve.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for unvaulted items.
Additionally, the flare gun will get a makeover and adds the summer-exclusive fireworks effect when fired into the sky. Now you can ping enemies or enjoy the light show–or why not both?
Summer Escape challenges and free cosmetics
It wouldn’t be a Fortnite event without a bundle of in-game quests doling out a bunch of new character cosmetics, like back bling, a glider, and more. For Summer Escape, nine free rewards await those who complete a series of challenges over the course of the two-week event. They’re broken up into different categories, with a new set becoming available every few days. Here’s the schedule:
Quech Quests: Progressively available between July 4-7
Lagoon Party Quests: Progressively available between July 8-11
Make an Entrance Quests: Progressively available between July 12-16
In addition to universal XP rewards, players will also unlock the Nanners wrap for the first set, the Treezy back bling for the second set, and the Blossoms Drop contrail for the third set. Additionally, accumulating event-wide quest completions will unlock even more, including the Wild Fronds back bling for 14 completed quests, the Bugsy glider for 18 completed quests, and the Toasted Coconut emote (inspired by that one Leo DiCaprio gif) and the Lagoon Escape loading screen for 24 completed quests.
If all that wasn’t enough, even more free rewards can be had when you complete specific (and very simple) quests:
Destroy 10 stones – Artifact Axe pickaxe
Mantle within 30 seconds of busting through a door: Starry Sea wrap
Here’s to you, looper.
Gallery
As always, we’ll have guides on site for any and all challenges that may stump you as the event unfolds.
Summer Showdown in Creative mode
For those looking for summer vibes outside of the game’s main attraction, Creative mode features the Summer Showdown series of Epic-curated islands made by the community. Head into the game’s Discover tab to browse some of the many new player-made modes the developer-publisher is teaming with for this year’s summer event.
New summer skins and Fortnite Crew bonus
Two more skins have been revealed for this year’s summer event item shop, too. Opal, a brand-new character to the lore; and Chaos Explorer, a deep sea diving-themed reimagining of an earlier character, will debut in the item shop during the event. They will surely be flanked by past years’ summer event skins too, like the ever-popular Beach Midas and Beach Jules.
Summertime and the living’s easy.
Gallery
The challenges for Purradise Meowscles, the latest midseason battle pass skin, will also go live during the event, giving battle pass owners even more challenges to chase and cosmetics to unlock. Meanwhile, Fortnite Crew members will unlock an exclusive bonus item, the Nanner Buddy back bling.
When does Fortnite Summer Escape end?
This year’s summer party ends on July 18 at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET. Be sure to complete any related quests before then, as once the event ends they will disappear from the game–and so will the ability to unlock the cosmetics tied to them.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
The good news is, a better version of the No Film School website is coming soon. The bad news is, the comments won’t make it. Here’s how to save yours.
TL;DR: go to your profile page and click “Comment History.”
A brief walk down memory lane
The current version of the No Film School website, launched all the way back in 2014, is definitely showing its age. What I originally started as a blog in 2010 with no byline (because I wrote every article myself and “by me” seemed redundant) had grown to a multi-author site with millions of pageviews. For the relaunch in 2014, I wanted to turn NFS into a full-blown community site, which would hopefully give rise to active, helpful discussions among filmmakers.
It didn’t work.
Our forums were inundated by spam almost immediately, and we lacked a number of features that would’ve been crucial for the community to thrive (notifications, messaging, moderation tools, etc). Despite our lofty ambitions, the site continued largely as before — as a blog, not a forum.
We continued making improvements over the years, like launching our podcast, and redesigning the article page — but for the most part, developing new features on a Drupal-based website was slow and costly, and I soon regretted moving off of WordPress.
Our new, faster, better website is almost here—currently scheduled to launch July 17. We’ve been working on it for the past several months. More on that soon!
In the meantime, when we finally bid the old site adieu, we will unfortunately also need to say goodbye to the comment history on this site. The new CMS (Content Management System) won’t play nicely with our past comments, so we’ll be starting from a clean slate as far as comments are concerned.
But fret not! If you’ve made valuable contributions to our articles over the years, we’ve built a tool for you to access and download your commentary so you don’t lose it.
How to download your comments
It’s easy. Just login to the site, click on your profile pic at top right, then on your own profile page, under DOWNLOADS on the left, you’ll see a link labeled “Comment History:”
Click that, and voilà. The entire history of you (at least as far as your comments on NFS are concerned) will be downloaded as an html file, complete with links to the original stories for context.
We wish we could bring everything over to the new site, but since that unfortunately isn’t feasible, this is the best we could do. If you’ve commented here over the years, we greatly appreciate your voice, and we hope you join us on the new site, coming soon!
If you have any issues accessing your comment history, let us know… in the comments!
Wimbledon is famous for its strict insistence on exclusively white clothing on the tennis court. However, when it comes to outfits on the sidelines, there’s more room for self-expression, even though there are still common trends that emerge. From Sienna Miller’s linen two-piece suits to Alexa Chung’s mid-length cream pleated dresses, spectator looks are often inspired by on-court fashion and have a sense of tradition and formality. However, Kate Middleton’s recent look adds an ’80s-inspired twist to the classic Wimbledon style.
On the second day of the Wimbledon championships, the Princess of Wales, who is both a patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) and a skilled tennis player herself, made her first appearance at the tournament to watch British player Katie Boulter. Her outfit drew inspiration from on-court fashion, as she stuck to a white and green color palette and wore a preppy white pleated midi-length skirt.
The Princess of Wales with Roger Federer.
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
The ensemble consisted of a mint green double-breasted Balmain blazer adorned with ’80s-style contrasting white buttons and a white lapel, a white midi-length pleated skirt, and a pair of white leather Gianvito Rossi court shoes. To top it all off, she accessorized the look with knotted pearl drop earrings by London-based independent jewelry brand Shyla that she has worn several times before, a gold Sézane cuff bracelet, and a white Mulberry Amberley crossbody bag.
Once again. “John Wick: Chapter 4” (Lionsgate) ($5.99) is #1 at iTunes and Google Play, while “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” at $19.99 (Universal) is #1 at Vudu (which calculates by revenue, not transactions).
Like most weeks, Netflix’s top 10 movie list is topsy-turvy. New at #1 is “Run Rabbit Run,” an Australian horror film the streamer acquired out of the Sundance Film Festival’s Midnight section. It stars “Succession” actress Sarah Snook as a fertility doctor who notices her daughter’s strange behavior.
Beyond that, “Mario” is in two second-place spots while “Fast X” is #2 at Vudu, helped by its $19.99 price. “The Covenant” (MGM) is #3 at iTunes, “The Machine” (Sony) at $19.99 #3 at Vudu, with “Fast X” taking third at Google Play.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”Courtesy of Marvel Studios
The #1 summer release (for now), “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (Disney), is set for release July 7, a generous 63 days after its theatrical release. It should have no problem taking over at #1, possibly for multiple weeks.
New this week are “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret” (Lionsgate), boosted by its lowered $5.99 price. It’s #5 at iTunes (#11 at Google Play) after a lackluster reaction at $19.99. “Knights of the Zodiac” (Stage 6), a live-action, Hungarian-filmed anime adaptation, is #7 at Vudu at $14.99.
Along with “Rabbit,” other Netflix originals on the chart are “Extraction 2,” now #3 after two weeks at #1, “The Perfect Find,” which had a nice run at #2 and is now #8, and an animated original at #9.
Six just-added theatrical titles are in the Netflix top 10, with Sony’s 2013 hit “White House Down” in second place and “Thank You for Your Service” at #4.
iTunes and Google Play rank films daily by number of transactions. These are the listings for Monday, July 2. Distributors listed are current rights owners. Prices for all titles are for rental.
iTunes
1. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) – $5.99
2.The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) – $19.99
3. The Covenant (MGM) – $5.99
4. Fast X (Universal) – $19.99
5. Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret (Lionsgate) – $5.99
6. 65 (Sony) – $5.99
7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Sony) – $3.99
8.Hypnotic (Ketchup) – $5.99
9. BlackBerry (IFC) – $6.99
10. Renfield (Universal) – $5.99
Google Play
1. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) – $5.99
2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) – $19.99
3. Fast X (Universal) – $19.99
4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Sony) – $3.99
5. The Covenant (MGM) – $19.99
6. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount) – $5.99
7. 65 (Sony) – $5.99
8. The Pope’s Exorcist (Sony) – $5.99
9. The Machine (Sony) – $19.99
10. Renfield (Universal) – $5.99
Vudu
Vudu ranks by revenue, not transactions, elevating premium VOD titles. This list covers June 26-July 2.
1.The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) – $19.99
2. Fast X (Universal) – $19.99
3. The Machine (Sony) – $19.99
4. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) – $5.99
5. Evil Dead Rise (WBD) – $5.99
6. 65 (Sony) – $5.99
7. Knights of the Zodiac (Stage 6) – $$14.99
8. The Covenant (MGM) – $5.99
9. Sisu (Lionsgate) – $19.99
10. Hypnotic (Ketchup) – $5.99
Netflix Movies
Most viewed, current ranking on Netflix’s daily chart on Monday, July 3. Originals include both Netflix-produced and acquired titles it initially presents in the U.S. Netflix publishes its own weekly top 10 on Tuesdays based on time viewed.
1. Run, Rabbit, Run (Netflix Australian original)
2. White House Down (2013 theatrical release)
3. Extraction 2 (Netflix original)
4. Thank You for Your Service (2017 theatrical release)
5. Monster Trucks (2016 theatrical release)
6. The Huntsman: Winter’s War (2016 theatrical release)
The 2023 R-rated comedy with a female cast debuts exclusively in theaters first, but here is when and where Joy Ride will be released on streaming.
A new R-rated comedy arrives in theaters first, but here is where and when Joy Ride will release on streaming afterward. The new movie directed by Adele Lim, who is best known as the writer of Crazy Rich Asians and Raya and the Last Dragon, follows a group of friends as they travel to China. The movie follows Audrey Sullivan (Ashley Park) and her best friend Lolo (Sherry Cola) as they go overseas to find Audrey’s birth mother. The R-rated female-led comedy also features Everything Everywhere All At Once breakout star Stephanie Hsu as a key character in the Joy Ride cast.
Although movie theaters are now dominated by superhero movies and franchise fare, Joy Ride is an example of the original movies that various studios are still making with theatrical audiences in mind. Comedies in particular have become increasingly less common on their own, as Lionsgate’s The Blackening brought a horror spoof to theaters and Sony’s No Hard Feelings delivered a raunchy rom-com. Joy Ride‘s excellent reviews have given it some hope to find an audience and be deemed a financial success at the box office. Even if that does not happen, it will be given a second life on streaming. Here is when Joy Ride 2023 will release on streaming.
Joy Ride Might Not Release On Streaming Until Early 2024
Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu, Ashley Park, and Sherry Cola in Joy Ride
Those wanting to see the R-rated comedy should prioritize seeing it in theaters, as Lionsgate’s movies typically take months to get streaming release dates. The studio has been consistent about waiting six months from a movie’s theatrical debut to make it available on a streaming service. John Wick: Chapter 4 debuted in theaters in March 2023 and will not be streaming until late September. The same six-month window was utilized for 2022 releases The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and Clerks III. Lionsgate is expected to do the same for The Blackening‘s streaming release window too.
Joy Ride releases in theaters on July 7, 2023. If Lionsgate continues their usual practices, Joy Ride‘s streaming release date will not be until January 2024 potentially. That would be six months from the movie’s theatrical debut. It is possible that the studio moves up the timetable for when Joy Ride will be on streaming to line up with the holidays, allowing the R-rated comedy to be available in late 2023 instead. Considering Lionsgate has rarely wavered on this stance regardless of box office performance or critical acclaim, interested parties will have to wait a long time to watch 2023’s Joy Ride movie on streaming.
Joy Ride Will Stream On Starz (& Eventually Peacock)
As for where Joy Ride will release on streaming, Lionsgate’s involvement as a distributor means that it will begin on Starz before going to Peacock. Lionsgate owns Starz, which is why the studio’s movies always begin streaming their first. However, Lionsgate also struck a deal with NBCUniversal and Peacock in 2022 to have all the studio’s movies begin streaming on Peacock during the Pay 2 window. This means that viewers will be able to watch Joy Ride on Starz in early 2024 before its streaming home moves to Peacock at some point later in the year.
The most important thing about “Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed” is that, within the essential act of reclamation it provides for the star, it doesn’t just write off the Hollywood icon’s life as sad. That’s a remarkable thing for a documentary in which its last 40 minutes are as harrowing a depiction of AIDS in the ’80s there’s been in a film since “How to Survive a Plague.”
Certainly, it’s infuriating and upsetting on many levels: that Hudson wasn’t allowed to fly on a commercial airliner because of his diagnosis and had to rent an Air France Boeing 747 at the cost of $250,000 to return home to Los Angeles from Paris as it became clear his experimental treatment there had failed. And the revelation that his friend Nancy Reagan even urged her husband to deny him treatment at a military hospital is beyond enraging.
Stephen Kijak’s documentary does an illuminating job, however, of suggesting that Hudson lived, for the most part, a happy life. Being closeted to the general public did not mean that he was not out to a large group of people — he certainly expressed his sexuality, and with many partners, some of whom appear in Kijak’s film to share their memories of him.
Often in cinematic depictions, gay men have not been allowed to be sexual, and the frank descriptions of his liaisons with numerous men (during one segment, Hudson is heard setting up himself over the phone in his Grand Canyon-majestic voice conveying explicit detail) speak to the degree to which he really was liberated. Doris Day may not have known he was gay, but many, many others in his orbit did.
Kijak even goes so far as to imply that there have been few Hollywood celebrity deaths ever to have more meaning than Hudson’s, in the way it helped to normalize homosexuality and being HIV positive and spur action to improve the survival rate. To the homophobic public, if Rock Hudson, the ultimate example of movie god Americana, could be these things, so could anyone.
Where Kijak’s film falls short is in its consideration of Hudson as an actor. Allison Anders praises his performance in “Giant,” but there’s little consideration of what a precise, methodical performer he was. It’s a shame because the documentary would have been a natural place to do that, and it’s hard to imagine any other documentary on the horizon that would.
Even at the time of his greatest success in the late ’50s, Hudson’s acting gifts weren’t celebrated in the way they could have been. He was cool and reserved, inherently embracing the idea that navigating American life is all about the wearing and swapping out of masks.
He’s the actor who comes the closest to embodying the idea of Don Draper. What, I’m comparing him to Jon Hamm’s aggressively hetero “Mad Men” character? Yes, because that character was all about wearing masks, having invented his persona from the ground up, literally assuming someone else’s identity. There’s an element of self-invention that’s always essential to the idea of the midcentury American dream: You were simply who you said you were. Jay Gatsby was that on the page. Rock Hudson lived it.
Hudson was that in every sense. Not just because he was gay and projected an image of straightness, but in all the other ways his persona was manufactured. There’s a legend, possibly untrue, that he developed his mellifluous voice by screaming at the top of his lungs on a mountaintop while suffering from a head cold, breaking a vocal chord so that it artificially lowered his voice for the rest of his life. What a mad, mythic story. It’s not presented in the doc, again probably because it isn’t true, but it’s reflective of the unique place Hudson occupied between legend and reality.
In so many of his films, Hudson’s characters are navigating reality by projecting their own image of reality. There’s as much role-swapping, misdirection, and mistaken identities in “Pillow Talk” or “Lover Come Back” as in a Shakespeare play. “Magnificent Obsession” is all about him becoming a better person by being increasingly inauthentic; his authentic self is an asshole. His mysterious tree farmer in “All That Heaven Allows,” not at all an unambiguously noble hunk, seems committed to exchanging one cage for Jane Wyman’s character for another.
Issues of authenticity are at the core of Hudson’s roles in a way that speaks deeply to the American character. But he was cool and reserved where James Dean and Marlon Brando and Paul Newman burned hot. A twinkle in his eye and a wry smile as Brad Allen in “Pillow Talk” convey an internal life you have to work a bit to access — you come to him, not him to you, as he’s always going to withhold himself a bit. The Method guys? They’re all on the surface, their inner lives made external through eruptions of emotion. One of these styles of acting was thought to be “acting,” the other merely stardom.
That narrative has remained largely unchanged since the ’50s. Kijak’s film suggests that the flirtations with homosexuality in “Pillow Talk” and “Lover Come Back” was producer Ross Hunter making fun of Hudson being closeted (though the incessant use of clips from his movies to imply gay undertones, which most audiences wouldn’t have detected at the time, seems almost like Kijak doing the same). But look at Hudson’s comic timing in those movies. Look at the very self-aware (and contemporary) way he projects toxic masculinity in those films. It’s performance and critique at the same time. Dean and Brando delivered rawness; Hudson delivered irony.
For me, the ultimate example of an actor’s greatness is when he or she can elevate an otherwise bad movie. Look no further than Hudson in “The Mirror Crack’d,” a film entirely omitted from the documentary. This Agatha Christie adaptation is bad. Even Angela Lansbury (as Miss Marple) is bad in it, which almost never happened. Elizabeth Taylor turns in a forgettable performance. But… Hudson is electrifying. Yes, once again he’s a man with a secret. And he almost single-handedly elevates that movie to something grand and tragic, acting circles around his dear friend Taylor. He was a serious artist capable of delivering serious art even when serious art was very much not expected.
That Hudson is missing from “All That Heaven Allowed.” I wish it had been there. Luckily, Hudson’s films are still there to be discovered and enjoyed anew. Watch them for what’s there, not what you think is there.
The American holiday of the Fourth of July, being well celebrated in The States for their independence, is one full of barbecues, swimming, and fireworks. Many also reflect on the growth and progress of the country, but often from only a single point of view.
For many, July 4th isn’t something always worth celebrating. Not everyone in America gets to celebrate having the same independence. For immigrants, black and people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, women, religious and ethnic minorities, and so on, “independence” isn’t something yet in full grasp.
Looking at American history and political conflicts from a narrative other than your own is important, and these films give the opportunity to do so, representing different communities within America.
Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
Based on a true story, Joe Talbot directs the story of Jimmie Fails’ childhood home. With themes of racial inequity and the gentrification in San Francisco which led to eviction, Fails tries to get the house built by his grandfather back.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
Directed by Aaron Sorkin, the film is exactly about what the title suggests. One of the most significant trials in American history, where anti-Vietnam War activists were charged following a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
13th (2016)
13th is a powerful documentary from Ava DuVernay, titled after the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery. It focuses on the history of racial inequality in the U.S., specifically within the racially disproportionate prison system.
The Post (2017)
Steven Spielberg’s The Post details the efforts of Katherine Graham, the first woman publisher of an American newspaper, and her editor at The Washington Post, as they are able to expose and publish The Pentagon Papers, which reveal horrid truths about America’s involvement in Vietnam that were covered up by the government. Their career risking efforts show the power of journalism.
Milk (2008)
Milk, about Harvey Milk, directed by Gus Van Sant, tells the story of the first openly gay elected official in the United States, in 1977. His election was an important step in American history.
Miss Juneteenth (2020)
Channing Godfrey Peoples’ Miss Juneteenth is an empowering story about the relationship between a mother and daughter, while preparing for the Miss Juneteenth pageant, which represents the holiday that remembers and honors emancipation and black history.
Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
From Kimberly Peirce, a biographical story based on the real life of Brandon Teena, a trans man in middle America trying to find his identity but being interrupted by receiving hate and threats from people around him.
She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry (2014)
A documentary by Mary Dore, visualizing the modern women’s movement in the late 60s to 70s and highlights the many activists. It was the first film to document the Second Wave feminist movement in America.
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)
Directed by Eliza Hittman, the film tells a story of the current crisis for reproductive rights in America, and it serves as just one example of thousands of different experiences women in America are facing.
Kaleen Gendreau is an intern at Raindance, and she previously earned her BA in Mass Communications and Production from the University of South Florida, Tampa, in the spring of 2023. She’s written and directed two student film projects, and spent a lot of her time at university working and filming in a virtual production studio.
A heavily armed gunman wearing a bulletproof vest shot dead five men and injured two children in a mass shooting in Philadelphia on the eve of the Fourth of July.
Wielding an AR-style rifle and handgun, the 40-year-old male suspect, who has not yet been named, began shooting seemingly at random as he stalked the streets of the largely residential neighborhood of Kingsessing for more victims to kill.
The mass shooter is now in custody after he tried to outsmart cops by using a police scanner but within 10 minutes of launching his spree he was tracked down in an alley and arrested, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a news conference.
The killer left five men aged between 16 and 59 dead. The fifth victim wasn’t found until several hours after the shooting when an unnamed man returned home and found his 31-year-old son dead of multiple gunshots wounds.
Two children, aged two and 13, were rushed to hospital following the mass shooting but are in a stable condition, cops said.
Families had been enjoying the July 4 festivities when the gunman began opening fire at his unsuspecting victims. The motive for the shooting is not yet known. It is not clear if any of the victims are connected.
A second person who cops believe had ‘picked up the gun and returned fire in the direction of the shooter’ was also in custody, Outlaw said, but did not know whether there was a connection between that person and the mass shooter.
Police have cleared the scene in Kingsessing neighborhood of Philadelphia after a heavily armed gunman wearing a bulletproof vest killed five men and injured two children in a mass shooting in Philadelphia on the eve of the Fourth of July
Police place a rifle in a bag on the scene of a shooting on July 3 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
‘At this point all we know is that this person decided to leave their home and target individuals,’ Outlaw said.
Security camera video shows the shooter walking down the street calmly while firing at people before responding officers chased the suspect as he continued to fire.
Outlaw said she did not know if the suspect was firing from his rifle or handgun at the time he was chased by cops, but confirmed he was ‘actively shooting’. She said officers managed to corner the suspect in the alleyway before ordering him to show his hands and arresting him.
‘Thank God our officers responded as quickly as they did. I can’t even describe the level of bravery and courage that was shown,’ Outlaw said.
Officers were flagged down at about 8:30 p.m., and multiple calls of shots fired came in from the Kingsessing.
Philadelphia police were dispatched to 56th Street and Chester Avenue, where they found several victims – some of whom were fatally wounded.
Security camera video shows the shooter walking down the street calmly while firing at people before responding officers chased the suspect as he continued to fire
Officers were able to apprehend the suspect in the rear alley of 1600 block of Frazier street and found he was armed with the rifle, handgun, multiple magazines and a police scanner
The officers then heard multiple gunshots further up the street on Kingsessing Avenue where they found ‘multiple casings’. The cops advanced further down the street before hearing more gunshots in the area of 1800 block of Frazier Street.
‘At some point, they locate the suspect and the officers were able to pursue him on foot,’ Outlaw said. ‘They pursued him from Kingsessing along Frazier Street to Springfield while the male was shooting.’
Officers were then able to apprehend the suspect in the rear alley of 1600 block of Frazier street and found he was armed with the rifle, handgun, multiple magazines and a police scanner. The police did not fire any shots themselves.
Police spokesperson Jasmine Reilly told the network four victims were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and two were taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Outlaw said at a news conference that all of the victims of the mass shooting were male, including the two-year-old and the 13-year-old. A mass shooting is defined by the FBI as an incident in which at least four people are murdered with a gun.
The total number of victims increased overnight and police said a fifth male victim was found four hours after the shooting when a man returned home and found his 31-year-old son dead in the living room with multiple gunshots wounds.
‘We believe because of where he was found and where his house is on 56th Street and the fact that we found ballistic evidence that matches the ballistic evidence we found on the street a few hours earlier, we believe this homicide is related,’ Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
Responding officers chased the suspect as he continued to fire, and he was arrested in an alley after surrendering, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a news conference
Gunman had a bulletproof vest, magazines, an ‘AR-type rifle,’ a handgun and a police scanner
The total number of victims increased overnight and police said a fifth male victim was found four hours after the shooting when a man returned home and found his 31-year-old son dead in the living room with multiple gunshots wounds
Distraught family and friends of the victims gathered outside Penn Presbyterian Medical Center on Monday night.
Juliet Clarke told ABC Action News that her grandchild’s father was one of the victims.
‘I just came to get my grandbaby and my daughter and take them to the hospital. I came back and my house is in a crime scene. I can’t even go into my house,’ Clarke said.
‘I think the man just ran up and started shooting people that were outside. Imagine if it was the 4th and everybody’s out – it’s just not safe anywhere.’
One neighbor said he heard the gunshots and knew it wasn’t fireworks.
‘I heard shots. I heard like 30 shots,’ he said. ‘And then the second I had a discussion with somebody, we heard about 20 more shots.’
Officials had described the scene as covering an area of two by four blocks and said around 50 spent shell casings were found.
‘At this point you can see there are several scenes out here,’ Outlaw said. ‘We’re canvassing the area to get as much as we can, to identify witnesses, to identify where cameras are located and to do everything to figure out the why.’
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, a Democrat, tweeted about the shooting about two hours later.
‘Horrified by the reports of a shooting in Southwest Philadelphia,’ he said. ‘My heart is with the loved ones and families of everyone involved, and I send my prayers to the victims.’
‘My sincere thanks to @PhillyPolice for their brave response and successful apprehension of a suspect.’
Philadelphia police were dispatched to 56th Street and Chester Avenue, where they found several victims
The suspected shooter was identified as a 40-year-old man. One other person was in custody, but no other details were immediately available
The Philadelphia violence is the country’s 29th mass killing in 2023, the highest on record by this time in the year.
And the Kingsessing neighborhood is becoming more and more dangerous, locals say.
‘It’s getting worse,’ Emma Hilton, 70, who lives on the 1600 block of South 56th Street, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. ‘My kids [are] getting ready to take me up out of here.’
She said that with mass shootings on her doorstep, she is now thinking of moving further south to be with her children. They have been trying to convince her to do so for years.
‘It’s never been on this block,’ Hilton, who has lived in her home for 11 years, said. ‘It’s really gotten worse. It’s time to go.’
Officials had described the scene as covering an area of two by four blocks and said around 50 spent shell casings were found
Police spokesperson Jasmine Reilly told the network six victims were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and two were taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
The mass shooting occurred a day after gunfire erupted at a holiday weekend block party in Baltimore, about 100 miles to the southwest, killing two people and wounding 28 others.
The wounded in that shooting ranged in age from 13 to 32, with more than half of them minors, according to officials.
The Philadelphia violence marks the country’s 29th mass killing in 2023, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
So far this year, the nation has witnessed the highest number on record of mass killings and deaths to this point in a single year.
There have been more than 550 mass killing incidents since 2006, according to the database, in which at least 2,900 people have died and at least 2,000 people have been injured.
Just across the river, the Kensington neighborhood, which is known as ‘ground zero’ for the city’s drug epidemic, is seen strewn with trash and addicts injecting drugs in the middle of the day.
The disaster has been fueled by the rise of the drug Xylazine, known as ‘tranq’ – a lethal sedative that is used to enhance the effects of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine.
Disturbing images show a depressing sight in Philadelphia as drug users and the homeless litter the streets of the City of Brotherly Love over Fourth of July weekend
It’s a situation fueled by the rise of the drug Xylazine, also known as ‘tranq’ – a lethal sedative that is often used to enhance the effects of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine
Footage by Dailymail.com back in May revealed the scale of Philadelphia’s untamed ‘tranq’ epidemic, which has transformed the city’s streets into a drug-infested hellhole.
Just two months later, images show that the situation is the same.
Gruesome scenes in the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ show droves of homeless addicts aimlessly staggering through the streets, surrounded by tents and scattered trash.
One person gave Dailymail.com an inside look into the harrowing situation, explaining ‘people are starving, people are overdosing.’
National trends indicate the numbers of drug deaths continue to soar, with tranq and fentanyl ‘zombies’ slumped on streets across America.
Edward Fredkin, who despite never having graduated from college became an influential professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a pioneer in artificial intelligence and a maverick scientific theorist who championed the idea that the entire universe might function like one big computer, died on June 13 in Brookline, Mass. He was 88.
His death, in a hospital, was confirmed by his son Richard Fredkin.
Fueled by a seemingly limitless scientific imagination and a blithe indifference to conventional thinking, Professor Fredkin charged through an endlessly mutating career that at times seemed as mind-warping as the iconoclastic theories that made him an intellectual force in both computer science and physics.
“Ed Fredkin had more ideas per day than most people have in a month,” Gerald Sussman, a professor of electronic engineering and a longtime colleague at M.I.T., said in a phone interview. “Most of them were bad, and he would have agreed with me on that. But out of those, there were good ideas, too. So he had more good ideas in a lifetime than most people ever have.”
After serving as a fighter pilot in the Air Force in the early 1950s, Professor Fredkin became a renowned, if unconventional, scientific thinker. He was a close friend and intellectual sparring partner of the celebrated physicist Richard Feynman and the renowned computer scientist Marvin Minsky, a trailblazer in artificial intelligence.
An autodidact who left college after a year, he nonetheless became a full professor of computer science at M.I.T. at 34. He later taught at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and at Boston University.
Not content to confine his energies to the ivory tower, Professor Fredkin in 1962 founded a company that built programmable film readers, allowing computers to analyze data captured by cameras, such as Air Force radar information.
That company, Information International Incorporated, went public in 1968. With his new fortune, he bought a Caribbean island in the British Virgin Islands, to which he traveled in his Cessna 206 seaplane. The island lacked potable water, so Professor Fredkin developed a reverse-osmosis technology to desalinate seawater, which he turned into another business.
He eventually sold the property, Mosquito Island, to the British billionaire Richard Branson for $25 million.
Professor Fredkin’s life was filled with paradoxes, so it is only fitting that he was credited with his own. Fredkin’s paradox, as it is known, posits thatwhen one is deciding between two options, the more similar they are the more time one spends fretting about the decision, even though the difference in choosing one or the other may be insignificant. Conversely, when the difference is more substantial or meaningful, one is likely to spend less time deciding.
As an early researcher in artificial intelligence, Professor Fredkin foreshadowed the current debates about hyper-intelligent machines a half-century ago.
“It requires a combination of engineering and science, and we already have the engineering,” Professor Fredkin said in a 1977 interview with The New York Times. “In order to produce a machine that thinks better than man, we don’t have to understand everything about man. We still don’t understand feathers, but we can fly.”
As a starting point, he helped pave the way for machines to checkmate the Bobby Fischers of the world. A developer of an early processing system for chess, Professor Fredkin in 1980 created the Fredkin Prize, a $100,000 award that he offered to whoever could develop the first computer program to win the world chess championship.
In 1997, a team of IBM programmers did just that, taking home the six-figure bounty when their computer, Deep Blue, beat Garry Kasparov, the world chess champion.
“There has never been any doubt in my mind that a computer would ultimately beat a reigning world chess champion,” Professor Fredkin said at the time. “The question has always been when.”
Edward Fredkin was born on Oct. 2, 1934, in Los Angeles, the youngest of four children of Russian immigrants. His father, Manuel Fredkin, ran a chain of radio stores that failed during the Great Depression. His mother, Rose (Spiegel) Fredkin, was a pianist.
A cerebral and socially awkward youth, Edward avoided sports and school dances, preferring to lose himself in hobbies like building rockets, designing fireworks and dismantling and rebuilding old alarm clocks. “I always got along well with machines,” he said in a 1988 interview with The Atlantic Monthly.
After high school, he enrolled in the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, where studied with the Nobel Prize-winning chemist Linus Pauling. Lured by his desire to fly, however, he left school in his sophomore year to join the Air Force.
During the Korean War, he trained to fly fighter jets. But his prodigious skills with mathematics and technology landed him work on military computer systems instead of in combat. The Air Force eventually sent him to M.I.T. Lincoln Laboratory, a wellspring of technological innovation funded by the Pentagon, to further his education in computer science.
It was the start of a long tenure at M.I.T., where in the 1960s he helped develop early versions of multiple access computers as a part of a Pentagon-funded program called Project MAC. That program also explored machine-aided cognition, an early investigation into artificial intelligence.
“He was one of the world’s first computer programmers,” Professor Sussman said.
In 1971, Professor Fredkin was chosen to direct the project. He became a full-time faculty member shortly thereafter.
As his career developed, Professor Fredkin continued to challenge mainstream scientific thinking. He made major advances in the field of reversible computing, an esoteric area of study combining computer science and thermodynamics.
With a pair of innovations — the billiard-ball computer model, which he developed with Tommaso Toffoli, and the Fredkin Gate — he demonstrated that computation is not inherently irreversible. Those advances suggest that computation need not consume energy by overwriting the intermediate results of a computation, and that it is theoretically possible to build a computer that does not consume energy or produce heat.
But none of his insights stoked more debate than his famous theories on digital physics, a niche field in which he became a leading theorist.
His universe-as-one-giant-computer theory, as described by the author and science writer Robert Wright in The Atlantic Monthly in 1988, is based on the idea that “information is more fundamental than matter and energy.” Professor Fredkin, Mr. Wright said, believed that “atoms, electrons and quarks consist ultimately of bits — binary units of information, like those that are the currency of computation in a personal computer or a pocket calculator.”
As Professor Fredkin was quoted as saying in that article, DNA, the fundamental building block of heredity, is “a good example of digitally encoded information.”
“The information that implies what a creature or a plant is going to be is encoded,” he said. “It has its representation in the DNA, right? OK, now, there is a process that takes that information and transforms it into the creature.”
Even a creature as ordinary as a mouse, he concluded, “is a big, complicated informational process.”
Professor Fredkin’s first marriage, to Dorothy Fredkin, ended in divorce in 1980. In addition to his son Richard, he is survived by his wife, Joycelin; a son, Michael, and two daughters, Sally and Susan, from his first marriage; a brother, Norman; a sister, Joan Entz; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
By the end of his life, Professor Fredkin’s theory of the universe remained fringe, if intriguing. “Most of the physicists don’t think it’s true,” Professor Sussman said. “I’m not sure if Fredkin believed it was true, either. But certainly there’s a lot to learn by thinking that way.”
His early views on artificial intelligence, by contrast, seem more prescient by the day.
“In the distant future we won’t know what computers are doing, or why,” he told The Times in 1977. “If two of them converse, they’ll say in a second more than all the words spoken during all the lives of all the people who ever lived on this planet.”
Even so, unlike many current doomsayers, he did not feel a sense of existential dread. “Once there are clearly intelligent machines,” he said, “they won’t be interested in stealing our toys or dominating us, any more than they would be interested in dominating chimpanzees or taking nuts away from squirrels.”
“Barbie” director Greta Gerwig said Mattel was “incredibly open” to including the “counterargument” of women who found the dolls oppressive in the Warner Bros. Picture movie, noting that “it’s a lie any other way.”
“It felt like we had to give the counterargument to Barbie, and not give it short shrift, but give it real intellectual and emotional power,” Gerwig told Rolling Stone in a recent interview. “And Mattel was incredibly open to it. I said, “We have to explore it, because it’s a lie any other way. And we can’t make it a lie.” I think they heard it.”
Hitting theaters July 21, “Barbie” centers on the perfectly pink and picturesque Barbieland, where everyday is a party until one Barbie (Margot Robbie) has an existential crisis that prompts her to embark on a journey to the real world. Upon arriving in reality with Ken (Ryan Gosling) — who unknowingly snuck into her car — Barbie begins to meet women who provide this counterpoint by making the views about the dolls crystal clear.
While Gerwig’s iteration of “Barbie” is already being praised for its feminist messaging, the director noted that she sees the flick as “humanist” above all else.
“How Barbie operates in Barbieland is she’s entirely continuous with her environment,” Gerwig said. “Even the houses have no walls, because you never need to hide because there’s nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed of. And suddenly finding yourself in the real world and wishing you could hide, that’s the essence of being human.”
In fact, beyond grappling with inequitable power structures that leave women marginalized, “Barbie” also asserts that “any kind of hierarchical power structure that moves in any direction isn’t so great,” according to Gerwig.
“You go to Mattel and it is really like, ‘Oh, Barbie has been president since 1991. Barbie had gone to the moon before women could get credit cards,’” Gerwig said. “We kind of extrapolated out from that that Barbieland is this reversed world [where Barbies are in charge and Kens are subordinate]. The reverse structure of whatever Barbieland is, is almost like ‘Planet of the Apes.’ You can see how unfair this is for the Kens because it’s totally unsustainable.”
Beyoncé is kicking off the North American leg of her Renaissance World Tour in fashion: She’s partnering with Canadian retailer Holt Renfrew to launch merchandise for her recent album and tour.
The Renaissance Flagship, an installation that celebrates the fashion of the singer’s Renaissance era, album and tour, will transform the third floor of Holt Renfrew’s 50 Bloor Street West store in Toronto from July 5-11. The merchandise launch coincides with Beyoncé’s two-night stint at Toronto’s Rogers Centre on July 8-9.
This is the first time the 21-piece collection, priced from about $20 to $250, will be available in North America. Beyoncé first launched the Renaissance Flagship in London as she toured the European leg of her world tour in May.
“We, at Holt Renfrew are thrilled and honoured to be the home to the RENAISSANCE FLAGSHIP in Toronto. At Holts, we stand behind empowering self-expression and igniting positive change and we truly believe that the RENAISSANCE FLAGSHIP is an incomparable Illustration of this spirit,” Sebastian Picardo, president and CEO of Holt Renfrew, said in a statement. “We can’t wait to welcome all to this unforgettable experience in partnership with one of the greatest icons in entertainment.”
Items in the collection include Beyoncé’s signature silver Renaissance cowboy hat; a “Summer Renaissance” hoodie featuring an oversized “B”; a white T-shirt with artwork inspired by a segment from the tour; a long-sleeved T-shirt featuring the Renaissance album cover but in green screen form; an 80-page Renaissance World Tour art book; and a “We Shut This City Down” T-shirt in homage to the singer’s Toronto takeover.
The Renaissance Flagship will also include an exhibition of Renaissance Couture by Beyoncé x Balmain, which is making its North American debut. The star announced the collaboration, which she co-created with Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing, in March. It includes 16 couture outfits dedicated to the 16 songs on Renaissance and the collaboration marks the first time a Black woman has overseen the couture offering from a historic Parisian house.
In addition to Renaissance Couture by Beyoncé x Balmain, the singer is launching a four-piece, limited-edition product extension titled Renaissance: Beyoncé with Balmain. Drawing inspiration from the couture pieces that will be on display at Holt Renfrew, it includes two oversized tees, a dropped-shoulder hoodie and giant tote emblazoned with the collection’s moniker. They will be priced from about $150 to $450.
Beyoncé launched her Renaissance World Tour on May 10 in Stockholm, Sweden. After two nights in Toronto, she will also visit stadiums in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Chicago, Atlanta, Inglewood and Houston, her hometown. The tour will wrap on Sept. 27 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
There will be no “Barbie” world in Vietnam this summer.
The Southeast Asian nation has banned the release of “Barbie,” the upcoming film directed by Greta Gerwig, because of a scene that includes the so-called nine-dash line, a U-shaped dotted line on a map showing territory in the South China Sea that both China and Vietnam claim as their own.
The nine-dash line is used in Chinese maps to mark its claim over as much as 90 percent of the South China Sea.
While an international tribunal at The Hague ruled in 2016 that China had no legal basis for its claims, Beijing has yet to concede to the ruling and has instead sought to dominate the waters, carrying out aggressive incursions and developing military installations.
Vietnam, with its long-held acrimonious ties to China, said on Monday that the new film would not be released in the country because of its use of the line, according to Vi Kien Thanh, the head of the Vietnam Cinema Department. The decision was made by the National Film Appraisal and Classification Board, which is responsible for licensing and censoring foreign movies in Vietnam.
Responding to state media on Monday, Mr. Thanh confirmed that “Barbie” was banned because of “the illegal image of the ‘cow’s tongue line’ in the film,” using the common Vietnamese phrase for the nine-dash line.
Vietnam Plus, a state newspaper, wrote that the decision to include the line “distorts the truth, violates the law in general and violates sovereignty of Vietnamese territory in particular.”
China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all have territorial claims in the South China Sea, which include islands and other strategic maritime features.
“Barbie,” which stars Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and a host of other celebrities, was scheduled to be released in Vietnam on July 21. Some moviegoers in the country welcomed the government’s ban. Hoang Xuan Bach, a 23-year-old university student, said the producers should have known better than to include the map.
“I hope this movie will flop,” he said.
This is not the first time Vietnam has banned films for including scenes with the nine-dash line. “Uncharted,” a 2022 action film by Sony featuring the actor Tom Holland, and DreamWorks’ 2019 animation “Abominable,” were both dropped from the nation’s box offices for the same reason.
Vo Kieu Bao Uyen contributed reporting from Vietnam.
Lawrence Turman, the Oscar-nominated producer of “The Graduate” and “American History X,” has died. He was 96.
Turman died Saturday at the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills. His son John Turman confirmed his death to The Times.
The veteran producer was born in Los Angeles on Nov. 28, 1926, to Esther Goldberg and Jacob M. Turman. “An L.A. boy through and through,” according to sons Peter and Andrew Turman on social media, he graduated from Los Angeles High School, served two years in the U.S. Navy and then pursued a liberal arts degree at UCLA. After graduating from college, Turman worked for his father’s fabric and upholstery shop in downtown L.A., which he said was not the line of work for him — he’d always had stars in his eyes for theater and film.
Turman broke into the business in 1955. He was flipping through the pages of Variety when he came across a job posting — the Kurt Frings talent agency, which represented Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn, was looking to hire an agent’s assistant. He responded to the ad, writing that, although he had no experience, he was full of energy and would work cheaply.
He was quickly promoted to agent and represented actors who starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest” before pivoting away from representation and becoming a producer.
“He leapt to producing by partnering with a seasoned producer and cut his teeth making a handful of films you’ve never heard of,” Peter Turman said, as quoted on brother Andrew’s Instagram. “Branching out on his own, he optioned a book that spoke to him, and pulled in a stage director who was unrated in film and scraped together financing. That film was ‘The Graduate.’ ”
His zest for the film industry carried him through a prolific career that spanned more than six decades. He produced more than 40 films, two of which he directed, and in 1991 he signed on to head USC’s esteemed Peter Stark Producing Program, a post he held until he retired two years ago at 94.
Among his most-well known films are “The Graduate” (1967), “The Great White Hope” (1970), “The Thing” (1982), “The River Wild” (1994) and “American History X” (1998). He also wrote a book, “So You Want to Be a Producer,” in which he detailed the tricks of the trade.
“He married my mother in 1958. After a rollicking time in a great, rambling house in Brentwood, they divorced” in the early 1970s, the brothers Turman wrote. His father remarried twice, “had another significant relationship, and flirted embarrassingly but successfully till the end.”
He noted that his father ate a papaya daily “despite the fact that he did not like fruit but because he believed it was healthy for him.” He also swam laps to keep fit. “I remember him, in his 90s and yes, in his speedo (yikes), crossing the large bay in front of Hotel Mauna Kea. Amazing.”
Turman credited his gray hair to producing Judy Garland’s last film, 1963’s “I Could Go On Singing.” In 1974, he and producer David Foster linked up and would remain partners for 20 years. In 1994, Foster told The Times, “Larry is the opera and the symphony.” Together they produced “The Drowning Pool,” a whodunit starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward; “Heroes,” starring Henry Winkler; “Mass Appeal,” starring Jack Lemmon; “The Mean Season”; “Running Scared,” with Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines; and “Short Circuit” and its sequel.
Dustin Hoffman looks over the stockinged leg of Anne Bancroft in the 1967 film “The Graduate.” Producer Lawrence Turman bought the option to the novel for $1,000.
(Associated Press)
“I was famous after ‘The Graduate’ for about 20 minutes,” Turman said in a 2017 interview. “It’s nice to get a better table at the restaurant, but basically, that doesn’t motivate me. I never even thought about fame. I was inundated with telephone calls and letters and scripts after the film’s success. That’s Hollywood. Fame is ephemeral and gives us life. I was asked to run a few studios, be head of production. But that lasted for nearly a year, then the next flavor-of-the-month producer would come through.
“A good producer is a creative person. The top people in the field are creative. But producers do not receive a lot of respect,” he said. “Go out in the street and stop a dozen strangers and ask what a writer does, what a director does, what an actor does, and you’ll get a correct answer. If you ask what a producer does, you’ll get a blank look. Nobody knows what we do. My definition is it’s the person who causes the film to be made.”
Turman’s son John Turman, a screenwriter known for “Hulk” and “Ticking Clock,” told The Times via email that growing up, he was “lucky enough to eavesdrop on his father’s conversations with friends who were some of the great writers, William Goldman, Ernest Lehman, Lorenzo Semple Jr., Neil Simon, so many more.”
“My father’s career really tracked the golden age of Hollywood cinema. His prime was the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. He was passionate about the art as well as the business and used to say that it all begins with a good script. He would have advised today’s producers, as he did his USC students, to respect your collaborators. His passing marks the end of an era. For anybody who loves cinema, it’s maybe worth reflecting on these values in his memory, as the industry he loved looks for a way forward.”
Tributes for Turman flooded social media after the news of his death. Former students, colleagues and relatives shared anecdotes and accolades, heralding the filmmaker for his passion and kindness. “RIP Larry Turman. You were special. And I will never forget how you drilled in me two very near and dear lessons: 1) Personal life and family above movies … always. 2) It will take time, this business is more about the stomach you have than the talent,” wrote former student Iram Parveen Bilal on Facebook.
“I worked with Larry Turman on ‘American History X.’ He was a considerate, thoughtful and wise producer, insightful on the process,” Michael Mandaville wrote on Facebook. “Always remembered for getting behind ‘The Graduate’ novel as a movie, his experience and his telling of it to me made me realize how one’s belief overwhelms the obstacles. RIP Larry Turman.”
David Kirkpatrick, who produced “Rasputin” and “Big Night,” also memorialized Turman on social media, writing, “One of the kindest producers I have ever met. He put down his own $1,000 to option the novella, ‘The Graduate’ by Charles Webb. . . When I last spoke to him, when he officially retired from USC, he told me he was ‘just waiting for the horses and chariots of fire to take him away.’ I hope he had a good ride. He certainly had a good one on Earth.”
A service will be held at the Motion Picture Home at a later date. His family told The Times that, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Larry Turman Endowed Fund for the Peter Stark Program – USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Turman is survived by three sons, John, Andrew and Peter; four grandchildren; and two nieces, Katherine and Suzanna.
The premiere episode of Secret Invasion started by solving the mysteries of Agents Everett Ross and Nick Fury.
We learned that one had been a Skrull for an unknown amount of time. Meanwhile, the other returned home after an extended space trip.
Image: Marvel
Now, let’s talk about Secret Invasion Episode 1-2, which starts with something the premiere lacked: An explanation.
Past Is Prologue
The story reminds the viewer of the introduction of Skrulls in Captain Marvel.
Enemies of the Skrulls had chased them across the universe, forcing the aliens into hiding. They were fractured and alone.
Image: Marvel
Fury and Carol Danvers became allies of the Skrulls and their leader, Talos.
As part of their agreement, the humans agreed to find the Skrulls a new home.
The premise of Secret Invasion hinges on the fact that this hasn’t happened yet.
Image: Marvel
The Skrulls had already fallen into factions. Now, some are in open revolt. We’re dealing with the fallout from that in this series.
First, as a reminder, Captain Marvel took place in 1995, according to the MCU timeline.
After the prologue, this story begins in 1997, making it a sequel to Captain Marvel but a prequel to most of the events in Secret Invasion.
Image: Marvel
Yes, that’s a strange thing to say about something that happens in a Secret Invasion episode, but comic stories are weird. Just go with it.
The place is Brixton, London, where many Skrulls approach Nick Fury. One of them is Varra, who introduces the agent to an orphan named Gravik.
While the boy is young, we learn that in the wake of his parents’ death fighting the Kree, he escaped imprisonment and flew a ship to safety.
Image: Marvel
In other words, Gravik is a merciless child of war, which aligns with what we witnessed in the series premiere.
Importantly, Varra appears to have Nick Fury’s ear as well, which will tie into the episode’s big surprise.
A Promise Made But Not Kept
In 1997, Talos rallies his remaining troops, those “who braved the journey here to Earth.”
Image: Marvel
After Talos speaks, Fury asks the Skrulls to take “the pledge.”
The promise he offers is, “While you work to keep my home safe, Carol Danvers and I will find you a new one.”
Eventually, every Skrull in the room agrees, with the first of them being G’iah’s mother, Soren.
Image: Marvel
For whatever reason, G’iah and Gravik are already exchanging looks as the children in the room. So, they already have a relationship.
Fury thanks everyone and states, “If you keep your word, I’ll keep mine.”
The camera pans in on Gravik, who takes these words to heart. It’s obvious that terrorist Gravik is harboring a grudge for Fury breaking this pledge.
Image: Marvel
The episode demonstrates this in several ways. At one point, Gravik confirms he could have killed Fury, but he found the idea pointless.
Instead, hurting the man who has betrayed the Skrulls is more important to him.
Speaking of which, we return to the present and the aftermath of the Skrull terrorist incident.
Image: Marvel
The Skrull we watched claim the mind of a human last week gets thrown in a van. It turns out Talos is the one who has taken him. Hold that thought.
We cut to a Russian train where soldiers go from car to car as they search for Nick Fury. A gorgeous woman blocks one from entering her room.
After some flirtation, the soldier leaves, and the obvious happens. The woman returns to her natural form as Talos. And yes, he’s harboring Fury.
Image: Marvel
When someone as famous as Nick Fury gets captured on camera at the scene of terrorist activity, everyone presumes it’s him. Fury is on the run.
Reunions and New Alliances
During their train ride, Talos and Fury catch up after years apart. It becomes clear that Talos feels Fury abandoned the Skrulls as well.
During this conversation, Talos shocks Fury with a revelation. A million Skrulls, “all of us,” live on Earth after Talos sent out the signal.
Image: Marvel
As the Skrull explains the matter, everyone who isn’t part of Emperor Drogge’s colony has come to Earth. Who is Emperor Drogge? We don’t know.
For the moment, the bigger reveal is that about one out of every 80 “people” on this planet is a Skrull. That’s…disconcerting.
Furious, Fury kicks Talos off the train, which raises questions about how the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent exits the train.
Image: Marvel
We gloss over that, though. He’s an espionage master, and I’m sure it’s fine.
Anyway, the next cut involves Fury speaking with Maria Hill’s mother and revealing that she’s dead specifically because of him. The mother takes this…poorly.
We’re stripping Fury of all his allies in Secret Invasion, which will make him that much more dangerous later in the series.
Image: Marvel
Meanwhile, Gravik is consolidating his power and influence. He and G’iah arrive at a clandestine meeting.
Once Gravik enters the room, the other faces are recognizable from quick appearances.
One is an obnoxious news host, while another is the Secretary-General of NATO. Eep!
Image: Marvel
As expected, the Skrulls have usurped control of many power players in society.
While the conversation starts as a lecture against Gravik’s terrorism, he’s clearly in control the entire time.
By the end, the council names him Skrull General, a role whose “war power is total and unchecked.” We’ve got ourselves a villain.
Image: Marvel
And yes, the Skrull secret council declares war on Earth during this meeting.
Seeding the Skrull Plans
Some events happen during the episode that merit special attention.
First, one Skrull – and only one – refuses to bow to Gravik. He allows her to leave safely and continue in her role, believing he can trust her to act in the Skrulls’ best interests.
Image: Marvel
Before this Skrull departs, she chastises the others with what I believe is foreshadowing regarding what we should expect next in the story.
“We (the Skrulls) did not end up homeless refugees because we were unwilling to wage war. We ended up homeless refugees because we were too willing.”
After this Skrull departs the meeting, “Shirley” immediately calls Talos and alerts him that the council has voted Gravik Skrull General.
Image: Marvel
Talos asks for Shirley to set up a meeting between Gravik and him. The subject is allegedly about G’iah. We’ll see whether that’s true.
Also, the one challenge to Gravik’s plans centers on the Avengers. The Skrulls worry that if they raise the ire of Earth’s mightiest heroes, their plans will collapse.
Gravik acts insulted by this, and we later understand why. Once G’iah returns to their base, she scans through their system.
Image: Marvel
G’iah discovers genetic research being performed on creatures like the Frost Giants and Groot.
There are four different species under study, which means yes, we’re getting a Super Skrull.
Since we don’t have the Fantastic Four in the MCU yet, this Super Skrull will take other powers instead. But I’m 99 percent sure it’s coming.
Image: Marvel
Also, imagine the rage people are gonna feel when someone subverts Groot’s DNA into something evil.
The Spy Stuff
Remember that spy Talos captured earlier in the episode?
We circle back to that character once again, discovering them in a Russian meat locker.
Image: Marvel
Also, this seems like a good time to remember that there’s a third player on the board.
Yes, Sonya Falsworth returns and demands that the many Russian mobsters exit the torture scene.
Falsworth’s only question is where the emergency exit is. So, you know she’s gonna do something good.
Image: Marvel
Once the spy is alone with the Skrull, she poisons him in a manner that’s quite painful to his species.
Eventually, he talks…moments before Gravik attempts a rescue attempt.
Falsworth proves remarkably efficient, gains the intel she needs, and then escapes.
Image: Marvel
In between, she verifies the existence of evil scientists who are a married couple with the last name of Dalton. They’re the ones creating the Super Skrulls.
Meanwhile, James Rhodes faces a whole lot of diplomatic blowback from Fury’s presence in Russia. Rhodes swears he has no idea where Fury is.
Once a UN meeting ends, Rhodes receives a call from…Nick Fury. Awkward.
Image: Marvel
The two meet at a private restaurant that’s closed to everyone. The only other person there is Rhodes’s security guy.
Let’s just say that the meeting goes so poorly that Fury breaks the security guy’s arm.
Ultimately, Rhodes fires Fury as a government employee, espionage agent for the United States/Avengers, and any other role.
Image: Marvel
Fury’s attitude is very much, “You can’t fire me. I’m everybody’s boss.” I loooove him for that.
Still, Nick Fury is no longer an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., S.W.O.R.D., or anything else.
Image: Marvel
He’s one old man facing the thought of an alien invasion against creatures who can mimic anyone’s appearance.
Speaking of Skrulls…
Image: Marvel
I almost finished that thought by saying that without the Avengers, Maria Hill, Talos, or S.H.I.E.L.D. connections, Fury has lost everything.
I’m not sure that’s true, though.
The episode ends by showing a Skrull chopping vegetables as she prepares dinner.
Image: Marvel
Then, Nick Fury enters this home and kisses the same individual, who has since taken on a human form.
Secret Invasion desperately wants to think that a Skrull has replaced Nick Fury’s lover.
I think that’s a swerve, though.
Image: Marvel
The Skrull in question is Varra, and I suspect Nick Fury and she have been together for a very long time, maybe even since the 1990s.
Remember that joke in Captain America: The Winter Soldier? Fury said that his wife had kicked him out, leading Rogers to quip, “I didn’t know you were married.”
Since Fury is the world’s greatest spy, we weren’t sure whether Fury was lying. He clearly wasn’t.
The only question is whether Varra in the kitchen at the end of the episode is his wife or a replacement.
Either way, this woman won’t allow Fury in her kitchen until he wears his wedding ring, and you gotta love that.
Image: Marvel
Next episode, we’ll probably learn whether Fury has been married to a Skrull for 20 years or had his significant other Secret Invaded.
Either way, Nick Fury does still have connections that keep him attached to Earth.
Image: Marvel
As the episode ends, he only looks like a man who has lost everything.
We’re getting strong signals that the old Nick Fury is rising to the surface, though. And I can’t wait to see that guy crush an alien invasion.
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Kyle Gallnermay have excelled as a speedster in Smallville, but the actor is very clear that if he returned to the DCU, Green Arrow would be the character he would choose to play.
Gallner was one of the members of the beta version of the Justice League featured in the hit WB television series that centered on a young Clark Kent before donning the Superman suit and becoming the hero of Metropolis.
The show also presented its own version of Oliver Queen, with This Is Us star Justin Hartley playing the character. For a moment, the network considered giving Hartley his own spinoff as the famous archer, something that didn’t happen but kickstarted the development of Arrow and, eventually, the birth of the Arrowverse.
Since James Gunn and Peter Safran were announced as the co-CEOs of DC Studios, who will develop a new extended universe that integrates series, movies, animated productions and video games, Gallner has been postulating himself as the candidate to play the new Green Arrow.
Earlier this year, the actor published a video showing his bow and arrow skills on his social media, and now he used his Twitter account again to upload an image that shows him as a very good option for the role, not only for his skills, also for his look:
Gallner isn’t the only one who has been linked to the character, DC fans have come up with their own candidates, with Austin Butler and Charlie Hunnam topping the list. Another one who has been mentioned many times is Alexander Ludwig. So the competition is fierce.
Despite the fact that the character did not appear in the list of heroes that will be part of the first projects of the first phase of the new DCU, titled Gods & Monsters, Oliver Queen is one of the most popular DC heroes and will surely have his moment to shine in the future of the franchise like he did on TV for years with Arrow thanks to Stephen Amell.
Created by writer Mort Weisinger and artist George Papp, Green Arrow made his first appearance in 1941 in Fun Comics #73. With a story similar to Batman’s in many ways, Oliver was a successful businessman and celebrity in Star City until he was shipwrecked after an accident on his ship.
While the rest of the world thought he was dead, Oliver had to revive his bow and arrow skills, something he had learned as a child thanks to his love for Robin Hood, another character with whom the hero has much in common. After going through all kinds of adventures on an island, he finally returned to Star City and opted for a hidden identity, becoming a vigilante in search of criminals.
Green Arrow has been a member of the Justice League for many years, working alongside Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and many other heroes.
It’s already here, Honkai: Star Rail’s next livestream is right around the corner, and this time, it’s called “Even Immortality Ends,” indicating that we will indeed be continuing the story come 1.2. Yes, the story isn’t quite over yet, Honkai: Star Rail follows the same sequence of updates that Hoyoverse’s other games do where they will release characters, events, and story updates each patch so that you won’t ever be bored and always have something to look forward to.
When is Honkai: Star Rail’s 1.2 Stream “Even Immortality Ends”?
Oh, the favorite thing I love about Hoyoverse games is trying to figure out when these live streams happen in accordance with “server time” and in accordance with my time. For some people following Hoyoverse, this may be easy for you to find out if you live closer to Hoyoverse headquarters, but for those who live in the North American server, here’s what time it’ll be in Central Standard Time.
Depending on where you live, it might be off by an hour or two, but the Honkai: Star Rail 1.2 Special Program “Even Immortality Ends” will premiere on July 8 at 6:30 a.m. Our cast this time around will include the Radio Anchor Host Owlbert, featuring the voices behind Bladie, sorry- Blade, Kafka, and Welt. Because Welt and Luocha couldn’t be on the same couch, Luocha would be on one side and Welt would be in Owlbert’s seat after kicking the bird out trying to get as far away from him as possible.
Where to Watch Honkai: Star Rail’s 1.2 Stream “Even Immortality Ends”
The best places to watch Honkai: Star Rail’s livestreams are going to be on the game’s official YouTube Channel where it’ll appear live and you can even sign up for the notification to appear so that you are alerted once the video goes live. The other place you can visit is Honkai: Star Rail’s Twitch channel where the video will appear at the same time in Central Standard Time converted to whichever timezone you are watching the stream in. YouTube is a bit better in terms of dealing with any technical issues that may arise, but Honkai: Star Rail’s YouTube will also show many more videos, including trailers and videos of characters already in the game.
Official Sites to Watch Honkai: Star Rail Live Streams
There are plenty of things to look forward to once the live stream is finally aired and something you should check out is our theories on Honkai: Star Rail’s drip marketing where we believe Blade will be the first character to debut before Kafka releases with Luka on her banner. To see who else will be featured on the banner, we may already know/have strong speculations about the Four-Star characters who will be attending each banner. If you’ve already checked out these guides or know about the character then there is always the Honkai: Star Rail game tag just below this article you can click on to see what other news or guides are on the site. And as always, Happy Trailblazing!
BBC Unveils Trio Of Animation Series As It Steps Up Search For British ‘Simpsons’
The BBC has unveiled the trio of projects that it hopes could fulfil the search for a British Simpsons. Coming from the Ignite animation program, the corporation has greenlit Duck and Frog, The Underglow and Captain Onion’s Buoyant Academy for Wayward Youth. The former is a slacpstick comedy with a modern British setting and an energetic anarchic sense of humor, The Underglow is a preschool series with little creatures and characters that come out to play when the sun goes down and the latter follows Marvin and his friends on their boat-based boarding school, the Unsinkable II. The projects were greenlit after producers submitted ideas to the BBC and have been chosen following an 18-month development process. BBC Children’s boss Patricia Hidalgo has made clear her ambitions for UK animation and used her first setpiece to say she was seeking a British verison of The Simpsons two years ago. “The reason we chose these three is because they all have a clear sense of the audience they are trying to target and a strong creative vision,” she said. “The ideas, stories and characters felt truly British and very original but they hold a sense of the familiar which is what usually makes a show successful amongst kids.”
UK Indies Strike MoU With Northern France
Producer trade body Pact has struck a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase opportunities between the UK and northern France. Pact has signed the MoU with the UK business center in Lille in order to “facilitate cooperation and mutual exchange in the film & TV content industry.” The agreement, which will run for an initial period of three years, promises to increase opportunities for UK indies to grow their businesses and operations in France and the EU more broadly. A series of activities including webinars, surgeries and joint events in both the UK and Hauts de France region will follow. “France is our third largest TV exports market and our closest neighbour in mainland Europe, so it’s a no-brainer for us to strengthen our ties and explore mutually beneficial opportunities for further collaboration,” said Pact Managing Director of Business Development & Global Strategy Dawn McCarthy-Simpson.
ITV News has forged a Head of Content Role and appointed Ed Saunt to fill it. Saunt, who is promoted from Senior Programme Editor of the Evening News, will oversee the delivery of content across all ITV News platforms, including TV, ITVX, and digital. He joined ITV more than a decade ago and has worked across elections in the UK and U.S., along with helming daily coverage. ITV News Editor Andrew Dagnell said his “strategic vision and creative leadership have made him an invaluable asset to ITV News.” The news comes one day after Channel 5 poached Channel 4’s Debra Ramsay for its vacant News Editor post. ITN produces the ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 daily news shows.
The Nurse Jamie UpLift Massaging Beauty Roller became an instant sensation when it first launched a few years ago, with stars like Kim Kardashian and Jessica Alba quickly snapping up the face roller to help de-puff and refine their skin. Now, a rare Amazon deal gets you the best-selling Nurse Jamie Roller on sale for just $58 — 15 percent off the regular price.
At $58, this is the lowest price we’ve ever seen for the UpLift Beauty Roller, and the Amazon deal gets you the device for even cheaper than Nurse Jamie’s own website.
LA-based nurse and skincare expert Jamie Sherrill’s signature product is embedded with 24 tiny stones that help to shape and massage the face. Users say they’ve noticed an immediate improvement in the smoothness of their skin and better clarity in skin tone and tightness.
Sherrill’s brand says the massaging stones and the unique hexagon shape of the roller can also be used to massage and sculpt “problem” areas around the cheeks, neck, forehead, browline, under the chin and over your decolletage.
Users meantime, give the Nurse Jamie roller a solid 4.4-star rating (out of five) from thousands of verified reviews online. In addition to its anti-aging benefits, users recommend the beauty roller to help rid your face of redness and puffiness, with one even dubbing it the “lazy girl’s gua sha” (referring to the popular facial stone beloved by Asian beauty fans).
The Nurse Jamie roller is safe to use daily, and it’s portable enough to take with you on your travels too. Regularly $69 and up, get the Nurse Jamie UpLift Massaging Roller on sale for just $58 now on Amazon.com. While Amazon is expected to unveil its Prime Day beauty deals soon, it’s unclear if the Nurse Jamie roller will still be discounted by then, so we recommend adding to cart while the deal is still live. See full details here.
Reality TV connoisseurs are used to seeing Kim Kardashian cry about some pretty incomprehensible experiences—for example, losing a pair of $75,000 diamond earrings in the ocean—but there is one breakdown that the 42-year-old credits with making her appear more relatable to her biggest fan: 10-year-old North West.
Of course, North is the eldest child that Kardashian shares with her ex-husband Kanye West. Their other children include seven-year-old Saint, five-year-old Chicago, and four-year-old Psalm. During a recent interview with Vogue Italia, the Skims founder opened up about a vulnerable moment with North that helped her see more of herself in her mom.
Specifically, Kardashian discussed passing the “baby bar” back in 2021, marking her first major step towards becoming a lawyer. “My daughter was there with me,” Kardashian told the publication. “For a long time, it was difficult for her to understand why I was studying all the time. She saw me fail and cry, she saw how I was no different than her when she was worried because of a test.”
Kim Kardashian failed California’s First-Year Law Students’ Examination three times before succeeding. “When [North] saw me cry from joy, I knew she understood how important that achievement was to me personally,” Kardashian continued.
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That doesn’t mean the mother of four lets her children witness every emotional expirience she goes through, particularly when it comes to her tumultuous divorce from West. “I think I’m a mix. If it’s something concerning my kids’ dad and I’m upset, I try not to show as much emotion,” she told Vogue Italia. “I have to be ready to explain why I’m upset and it might not be appropriate for them to know. There’s nothing worse than, ‘You’ll understand when you’re older.’ I don’t want to be that person.”
Timothy Olyphant is back to reprise his role as everyone’s favorite gun-slinging lawman in the latest teaser for FX’s Justified: City Primeval. Released courtesy of FX Networks, Justified: City Primeval is all set to debut later this month on FX and will stream on Hulu. You can check out the latest look at Olyphant’s return as Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens below.
Justified: City Primeval will bring Raylan Givens back for more all these years later, and finds the no-nonsense gun-slinger doing the rounds as he finds himself back in Miami before heading off to Detroit. There, Givens comes across crazed killer The Oklahoma Wildman. Fans of Justified are eagerly awaiting the return of Timothy Olyphant’s Deputy, and will be pleased to hear that the actor is up for more should Justified: City Primeval prove to be a success. “I’d show up,” Olyphant said recently. “I had a good time. Every time we’ve done this I’ve had a good time.”
This latest look at the revival comes following the first teaser for Justified: City Primeval, which reminds us all that, when it comes to Timothy Olyphant’s Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, you don’t mess with the hat. This first footage from the Justified revival series finds Olyphant back in said hat and once again dispensing justice as he makes the move from Kentucky to Miami. Check out the teaser trailer for Justified: City Primeval below.
First premiering on FX back in 2010 before concluding in 2015, the original Justified run stars Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, a tough deputy U.S. Marshal who enforces his own, Old-West style type of justice while patrolling the streets of Miami. Thanks to his lawman style, Raylans is transferred back to Kentucky, which includes Harlan County, the place where Raylan was born and raised and which he thought he had escaped for good. Met with critical acclaim throughout, Olyphant’s long-awaited return is sure to be a triumphant one.
“Having left the hollers of Kentucky 15 years ago, Raylan Givens now lives in Miami, a walking anachronism balancing his life as a U.S. Marshal and part-time father of a 15-year-old girl. His hair is grayer, his hat is dirtier, and the road in front of him is suddenly a lot shorter than the road behind,” the official synopsis for Justified: City Primeval reads. “A chance encounter on a desolate Florida highway sends him to Detroit. There he crosses paths with Clement Mansell, aka The Oklahoma Wildman, a violent, sociopathic desperado who’s already slipped through the fingers of Detroit’s finest once and aims to do so again. Mansell’s lawyer, formidable Motor City native Carolyn Wilder, has every intention of representing her client, even as she finds herself caught in between cop and criminal, with her own game afoot as well. These three characters set out on a collision course in classic Elmore Leonard fashion, to see who makes it out of the City Primeval alive.”
Justified: City Primeval Is Now Due to Debut on July 18
FX
Along with the first footage from the revival series, it has also now been revealed that Justified: City Primeval will debut on July 18. Based on the novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit, Justified: City Primeval stars Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens alongside Aunjanue Ellis, Adelaide Clemens, Vondie Curtis Hall, Marin Ireland, Norbert Leo Butz, Victor Williams, Ravi Patel, and Vivian Olyphant starring as Willa Givens, Raylan’s daughter with Boyd Holbrook as Clement Mansel, aka The Oklahoma Wildman.
Returning producer and showrunner Dave Andron has revealed how Justified: City Primeval will differ from its predecessor saying, “It’s very, very new. Not quite the old Justified. Only people who read the book might have an idea, but I think people who haven’t, who just expect the old thing, are going to be very surprised.” Fellow showrunner and director Michael Dinner meanwhile has called the comeback “a grown-up version” of what came before.
Justified: City Primeval is now scheduled to debut on July 18 on FX and will stream on Hulu.
After Elon Musk enraged Twitter users yet again by placing limits on the number of tweets that can be viewed per day, yet another alternative to the social media platform got its moment in the spotlight: The invite-only start-up Spill.
Spill was developed by two former Black Twitter employees who were among those laid off after Musk bought the company last year: Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell, Twitter’s former global head of social and editorial, and DeVaris Brown, a former product manager lead. The app topped the download charts on the App Store on Saturday and is currently No. 3 on Sunday at time of writing as thousands of Black Twitter users tried to sign up.
In an interview with TechCrunch shortly before Spill’s launch this past January, Brown said that Spill would be designed with Black users in mind, with particular focus in filtering and combatting hate speech via artificial intelligence designed by Black developers.
“We’re going to be more intentional and be more accurate around things that will be deemed offensive because, again, this is our lived experience or learned experience,” Brown told TechCrunch. “It’ll be much more accurate to catch those kinds of things that will detract from the platform, that would not lend to creating a safe space for our users and our creators.”
Spill got a boost in downloads after Musk announced in a tweet that due to “extreme levels of data scraping” and “system manipulation,” users will be subject to different limits on how many tweets they can view per day depending on whether or not their accounts are verified via an $8/month subscription service. Those who exceeded the viewing limits reported receiving a “rate limit exceeded” error message.
Musk changed the limits several times on Saturday, at one point announcing that verified accounts could view 10,000 posts a day, while unverified accounts could view 1,000 and new unverified accounts could view 500 posts. His announcement was met with widespread criticism, along with accusations that the rate limits were an effort to push users into paying to have their accounts verified and receive the higher rate limit.
It remains to be seen whether Spill or any of the other Twitter alternatives that have popped up following Musk’s purchase of Twitter will prove a real challenge to the site. Mastodon, a Twitter alternative that has been around since 2016, got a surge in recent months and currently has around 10 million users, little over 2% of the 450 million active monthly users Twitter currently enjoys.
Other platforms that have gotten some attention include Bluesky, another invite-only newcomer created by Twitter co-creator and former CEO Jack Dorsey, that currently has 1.9 million people on its waitlist. Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is also developing Threads as a direct competitor to Twitter, though its launch date is not currently set.
His father, Johannes, a tax officer, had been conscripted into the Nazi Army. Captured by the Russians on the Eastern Front, he didn’t return until 1948, after escaping from a P.O.W. camp in Siberia. Mr. Brötzmann grew up in Remscheid with his family — his father, his mother, Frida (Schröder) Brötzmann, and his sister Mariane — but moved to Wuppertal for school and remained there the rest of his life.
He studied graphic design and visual art in the late 1950s at the School of Applied Arts in Wuppertal, where he created his own fonts: striking, blocky alphabets that he later used on the covers of many of his albums. He had his first gallery show in 1959 and participated in early performances staged by the experimental, interdisciplinary art movement Fluxus. In 1963 he collaborated on the first major exhibition by Nam June Paik, the Korean American artist who would become known for his video work, but who at that point was building musically oriented installations and interactive sculptural objects.
Mr. Brötzmann continued making artwork prolifically even as music assumed a place of priority in his life.
“From the very start, he didn’t love the art-world milieu,” said John Corbett, co-owner of the Corbett vs. Dempsey gallery in Chicago, who began curating exhibitions of Mr. Brötzmann’s artwork in 2003. “But he continued privately making visual art. He was interested in beauty, but it had to be accompanied by a certain kind of honesty and forthrightness.
“He really could not deal with people who were false, with art that was false, and with music that he felt was false,” Mr. Corbett added. “He was quite intolerant of all those things.”
In 1967, Mr. Brötzmann released his first album as a bandleader on his own label, BRÖ. If its title, “For Adolphe Sax,” read like a provocation aimed at the 19th-century inventor of the saxophone, then his next BRÖ album, “Machine Gun,” released in 1968 and credited to the Peter Brötzmann Octet, announced all-out war on everything that had come before.
In this era of cancel culture and political correctness, the genre of comedy, in general, has become a dying breed at movie theaters. It’s difficult to believe that it’s been twenty-five years since the raunchy comedy classic There’s Something About Mary came out, and even the Judd Apatow comedies were mostly in the mid-2000s. When you talk about the sub-genres of romantic comedy and raunchy comedy, the pool gets exponentially smaller.
Writer/director Gene Stupnitsky’s No Hard Feelings, co-written by John Phillips, is the even rarer comedy combination of the raunchy rom-com. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence as Maddie Barker, a down-on-her-luck yet strong and determined woman with a checkered dating past. She needs a car so that she can make enough money in order to keep her cherished home. That’s when she notices a job listing with an offer that she cannot refuse; a free car to whoever will date a couple’s (played wonderfully by Matthew Broderick and Laura Benanti) sheltered, loner son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman).
Given the dearth of options available at multiplexes in recent years, this film feels like fresh coconut water in the desert. We first got a glimpse of Jennifer’s comedic range in Silver Linings Playbook, and she embodies her awkward and quirky persona in some of her public appearances. Still, she’s at the top of her comedic game here. Watching Lawrence perfectly deliver lines such as, “Hi, mind if I touch your wiener?” or when she opens a door at a party and sees a couple on their phone and says, “Does anyone even f**k anymore?” is that much more shocking and hilarious since we haven’t seen anything like that in what seems like so long ago. It’s like catching up with an old, funny, and outrageous friend.
“…a free car to whoever will date a couple’s sheltered, loner son…”
Balancing comedy with drama can be extremely tricky, but No Hard Feelings does it nicely because we end up caring for these characters. Maddie is a sexually-free woman who goes after what she wants but has trouble connecting with people on a deeper level. At the same time, Percy is unable to befriend anyone at all (other than his former male nanny, played by Kyle Mooney) because of his own past trauma. They’re an opposites-attract odd couple that starts to care for each other despite the fact that he hilariously maces her in the face the first time they meet because he thinks she’s trying to kidnap him. They also both have a strange yet endearing affinity for hanging onto the hood of moving cars to show their love for each other. I like that this movie plays a bit on the opposite of the She’s All That romantic comedy troupe of a female coming out of their shell and blossoming, but here it’s Percy. He just wants to be in his room playing video games, with limited interactions in the outside world, but as his relationship grows with Maddy, so does his confidence. We see his hidden talents, such as playing the piano while singing “Maneater” by Hall and Oates beautifully in a funny and touching scene. Our fearless leader Chris Gore also compared this movie to Risky Business on the Film Threat Livestream, and I can see that too. They’re both young men coming of age movies, where a dominant and sexually adventurous female (actress Rebecca De Mornay in Risky Business) shows them the ropes. I love the chemistry between Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman, the comedy is funny and unafraid, and it importantly has a heart and emotion to the story that actually works. We need more movies like No Hard Feelings.
The gridlock between Liberal and Conservative supporters appears to have broken, new polling suggests, with the Tories edging slightly ahead.
In an Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News and released Tuesday, 37 per cent of Canadians said they would vote for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party, signalling a four-point jump since February.
If a federal election were to take place tomorrow, the Liberals would fall behind with 32 per cent of votes, which is one point lower than they got four months ago, when Ipsos last conducted their poll.
Since 2019, the Liberals and the Conservatives have been “locked in a logjam,” but this is the first time that Ipsos polling has shown either side being able to really break out, said Darrell Bricker, global CEO of Ipsos public affairs.
He said the poll was reflecting “fatigue” with the Liberal government more so than growing support for the Conservatives.
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“People are really not that happy with the direction of the country at the moment and they lay a lot of the blame for that right now on the Trudeau administration,” Bricker said.
“So I think that less than Poilievre actually attracting a lot of people, it’s really people taking a look because they’re really not satisfied with the current situation with the federal government.”
Voter ‘fatigue’ with Liberals benefiting Conservatives, breaking gridlock: Ipsos CEO
Support for the New Democratic Party, led by Jagmeet Singh, also appears to have waned, with 16 per cent of respondents saying they would vote NDP – a drop of two points.
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The New Democrats entered into a governance deal with the Liberal minority government in March 2022, agreeing to back the Liberals on key votes in the House of Commons until June 2025 as long as key priorities such as dental care move ahead.
Bricker said it’s difficult for the NDP to stand out from the government at the moment because they are so aligned with the Liberals.
“If you want change, the NDP is probably not the place that you’re going to look for it right now. So that’s also benefiting the Conservatives.”
Younger voters surprisingly more open to Conservative support than older demographics, Ipsos CEO says
Meanwhile, the Bloc Quebecois would get eight per cent of the national vote, followed by the Green Party claiming three per cent and the People’s Party getting two per cent, the Ipsos poll showed.
One in 10 Canadians were indecisive about their voting intention, while six per cent said they would either abstain from casting their ballot or would spoil their vote.
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Since a Liberal minority government was elected in 2019 and then again in 2021, voting intentions among Canadians have remained largely neck-and neck with the Conservatives.
Regionally, the Tories solidified their support base in Western Canada – British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the Ipsos poll showed. The Liberals fared better than the other parties in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces.
In the country’s most populous province, Ontario, the Liberals and Conservatives would each get around 38 per cent if an election were held tomorrow.
Continuing with the same trend as past polling, Liberals saw roughly equal support among men and women, while Conservatives had stronger backing by male voters than female voters.
Conservative support was fairly similar across different age groups, but loyalty increased among high-income voters.
Liberals had greater appeal among older voters and their support was evenly spread out among different income levels.
Bricker said younger voters appear to be a bit more “promiscuous” in their voting intentions and are increasingly leaning towards the Tories.
“One of the things that seems to be changing a little bit is disaffection among younger voters, so we see younger voters actually taking more of a look at the Conservative Party than they were in the past.”
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These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between June 19 and 20, 2023, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
UK TV presenters Ant and Dec are remaking Byker Grove, the show that made child stars of them three decades ago.
Late Late Show indie Fulwell 73 is developing the project with the I’m a Celebrity host’s Mitre Studios.
Originally broadcast between 1989 and 2006 on the BBC, BykerGrove became a household favorite as it told the story of a youth club in Newcastle. Celebrated for its handling of hard hitting and controversial storylines, the program ran for 18 series and launched many famous faces both in front of and behind the camera, including Ant and Dec as fun-loving duo PJ and Duncan. The pair have often credited the show with launching their careers.
The producers said the reboot, which isn’t attached to a broadcaster, is aimed at a primetime audience and will “engage with a new generation of teenagers navigating the different challenges faced by young adults today.”
Fulwell 73’s Leo Pearlman and Heather Greenwood will serve as EPs with Ant and Dec as EPs and creative consultants for Mitre.
The show comes fresh off the back of the BBC’s reboot of Waterloo Road, while a movie version of Grange Hill from Phil Redmond is incoming.
“We owe such a lot to Byker Grove and the North East so we can’t wait to start working with Fulwell 73 and the team to bring this iconic series back to life,” said McPartlin.
Behind the scenes, Byker Grove will aim to be a returnable series providing sustainable training both in front and behind the camera, including new talent in a North East focused writers’ room and work placements. Fulwell 73 and Mitre Studios will unite to film across Newcastle and Sunderland as part of both companies’ commitment to their home region and North East based production offices. Ant and Dec will also look to integrate their Prince’s Trust Making it in Media course as part of the production to help give experience and confidence to young people in the North East who are looking to pursue a career in the media.
Nokia has announced a new agreement with Apple allowing the latter to use some of its key mobile technology patents. While the details of the agreement remain confidential, a press release from the two companies suggests the patents concern 5G technology.
The agreement will replace the current license that is due to expire at the end of 2023.
“We are delighted to have concluded a long-term patent license agreement with Apple on an amicable basis,” commented Jenni Lukander, President of Nokia Technologies. “The agreement reflects the strength of Nokia’s patent portfolio, decades-long investments in R&D, and contributions to cellular standards and other technologies.”
Substantial investments
Nokia said the revenue from this new agreement should start coming in as of January 2024.
Further in the press release, the company says its patent portfolio includes more than 5,500 patent families “declared essential to 5G”. In total, it holds more than 20,000 patent families, a portfolio it’s been building since 2000 and in whose research and development it invested more than €140 billion.
Nokia also said it contributes its inventions to open standards in return for the right to license them on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms. “Companies can license and use these technologies without the need to make their own substantial investments in the standards, fueling innovation and the development of new products and services for consumers,” the company concluded.
Nokia was once considered a powerhouse in the world of mobile phones. Before the age of the iPhone and Android phones, Nokia was one of the largest manufacturers of mobile devices, powered by its proprietary Symbian operating system. However, it failed to recognize the importance of iOS and Android ecosystems and quickly fell behind. Today, while it does manufacture some arguably great phones, its market share is minuscule compared to the 2000s, when its flagship model 3310 sold more than 120 million units.
EXCLUSIVE: Canadian filmmaker Pascal Plante has returned to feature filmmaking.
His latest pic is Red Rooms (Les chambres rouges), a taut, genre-bending tale about obsession, gender, and technology.
The tricky plot follows Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy), who wakes up every morning and heads to her local courthouse to secure a seat at the high-profile trial of Ludovic Chevalier (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos), a serial killer she is obsessed with. As days go by, the young woman bonds with another groupie (Laurie Babin), which momentarily breaks her out of her loneliness. But as the proceedings drag on and she spends more time in the courtroom with the victims’ families, Kelly-Anne finds it increasingly difficult to maintain her psychological balance and assumes her morbid fixation with the killer. She will then do whatever it takes to get her hands on the final piece of the puzzle: the missing video of a murdered 13-year-old girl, to whom Kelly-Anne bears a disturbing resemblance.
The film is Plante’s third, following his Cannes Competition title Nadia, Butterfly. The film was produced by Dominique Dussault, with Tim Ringuette as Exec Producer. Entract Films is distributing in Canada, while Sphere Films International is on sales.
Red Rooms debuts this evening at Karlovy Vary. Before the premiere, Plante sat down with Deadline to discuss the origins of the project, subverting serial killer genre tropes, and the current filmmaking scene in Canada. We can also share a first-look clip from the pic above.
DEADLINE: Red Rooms shifts between genres and has much to say, but what is the film about?
PASCAL PLANTE: The film is about a woman’s obsession. The obsession that one can have with extreme violence. This phenomenon has only been exacerbated by the way we consume images. We watch so much content that we can have a tendency to be desensitized to extreme violence and the intensity of what we consume as audiovisual.
DEADLINE: One of the most interesting parts of the film is the genre subversion. It’s a serial killer thriller, but you play a lot with the genre. How did you land on this subject matter?
PLANTE: It’s very much a pandemic movie. I know it’s not sexy to say that now in 2033, but in isolation, I binged a lot of True Crime shows. They always use the same formula, and like it or not, we glamorize the killer. At the end of the day, when you do a whole eight-hour show on Ted Bundy, even though you put a disclaimer at the end, you are weirdly milking that cow. So I’ve been thinking a lot about why we are fascinated with True Crime shows. It’s so widespread that it cannot be labeled as something marginal. This has to do with society and our upbringing, especially women because it’s mostly women. So there’s something societal about that phenomenon, and to our heads in the sand and say that these people are all crazy is irresponsible.
DEADLINE: Were there any specific genres, tropes, or past projects you were attempting to respond to?
PLANTE: Well, for starters, the killer doesn’t talk. And not only that, but he didn’t need to be beautiful in the normal canon of beauty standards because the obsession people have has nothing to do with physical beauty. I came across a statistic that still gives me the shivers, but Charles Manson received over 20,000 letters in prison before he died. Things like wedding proposals every day, and he had no teeth, so it had nothing to do with physical beauty. In our film, we wanted a presence in contrast to Zac Efron as Ted Bundy.
DEADLINE: So much of this story takes place in front of screens. You approach filming phones and computers in a very unique style. How did you land on this?
PLANTE: It’s freaking hard to shoot screens. Writing the scenes is easy. You know, you just write out the chat, and I use most of the technology myself, so I thought it would be easy to shoot, but man, it’s tough. First, you have to design the whole thing. You can’t just go on the Facebook page and start typing. You have to pre-program the whole scene. My DOP and I had to use all the tools to get it done. But when filming screens, sometimes you just get your footage and try to figure it out in editing.
DEADLINE: Red Rooms is also, in part, a story about AI. What do you think about the current discussion about AI and its dangers?
PLANTE: Technology evolves so quickly. We shot the film in October last year, and ChatGPT became widely accessible in November of last year. We’re only eight months later, and the whole technological landscape changed. So for me, the clock is ticking to release the film. At the end of the day, what AI does is plagiarise. If there’s nothing human generating what it copies, it doesn’t exist. So it doesn’t have God-like characteristics yet, but maybe it will.
DEADLINE: What do you think about the current landscape of filmmaking in Canada?
PLANTE: I try to remain as naive as possible in the sense that I humbly try to write and create things that I would like to see and watch, and as long as there is a structure that allows me to do that, I will find my way. In Quebec, there’s a lot of interesting work being done. What I like about Quebec cinema of the last decade is that there’s no common genre or way of approaching filmmaking. It’s very eclectic. And I love that.
Alexia Laroche-Joubert will replace François de Brugada, who has moved to lead fledgling operation Banijay Events, as part of Banijay Group’s push into live events and experiences.
Laroche-Joubert is best known for leading her own production outfit Adventure Line Productions (ALP), which is part of Banijay, and has recently also been leading scripted label Screen Line Productions.
She counts executive producing TF1’s version of Survivor, Koh Lanta, which has been on air for more than two decades, and France 2’s Fort Boyard, and is credited with lead producer roles on M6’s Loft Story, which is France’s version of Big Brother and TF1’s Star Academy and Secret Story. She was also an on-screen judge on Popstars.
Before joining Banijay, she has spent more than a decade with Canal+ and rose to become Editor-in-Chief at TF1. She was also Director of Programs at Endemol France under the leadership of Banijay founder Stéphane Courbit.
In her new role, she’ll report to Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti, who said: “Alexia has been a leading force for us in France for a number of years, and with entrepreneurialism and creative spirit at her core, she is the perfect profile to lead our French operations from here-on-in. Hugely respected, strategic and with a brilliant repertoire of credits, we have no doubt her experience and knowledge will be invaluable in driving the business to new heights, as we look to further diversify and enhance the offering.”
“From start-ups, to well-established labels like ALP, I have led a career underpinned by entrepreneurialism and at Banijay, I’ve found a home where I can continue to indulge my creative passions,” added Laroche-Joubert. “Stepping up to lead Banijay France was the logical next step, and I am proud to be taking on this challenge.”
Korean production and distribution company SLL is riding high on the current box office success of “The Roundup: No Way Out,” the only local film this year to sell more than 10 million tickets.
In the larger TV production division, it is breathing a sigh of relief with the successes of “Doctor Cha” and “The Good Bad Mother,” shows which have achieved huge local ratings and placed in Netflix’s Global non-English Top 10 charts.
For the company, which rebranded last year from JTBC Studio, and which acquired U.S. producer wiip, the renewed popularity of its shows represents something of a rebound after “the underperformance of JTBC dramas in 2022.”
Now the challenge is to keep things fresh and original, while producing the high volumes of Korean content demanded by clients and frenemies that include Netflix, Prime Video and TVing — the Korean streaming platform in which JTBC is a junior partner behind CJ ENM and Naver.
At an event Tuesday at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Press Center, executives including head of production Park Joon Suh, unveiled a slate of 15 shows that it will deliver in the second half of this year.
These include “Strong Woman Kang Nam Soon,” a spin-off from the 2017 drama “Strong Girl Bong Soon,” “Sing Again 3” and “The Biography of Evil” for various local broadcasters, including cabler ENA.
For streaming clients, the second half will hold “Ballerina” a movie being produced by its Climax Studios subsidiary for Netflix; a second season of “D.P.”; “Daily Dose of Sunshine” by Film Monster for Netflix; “The Crime Scene Returns” through Studio Slam for TVing; the SLL-branded “Death’s Game,” which is split between TVing in Korea and Prime Video in other territories; and wiip’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty 2” for Prime Video.
Upcoming theatrical films include Kim Jee-woon’s “Cobweb,” which Anthology Studios launched out of competition in May at the Cannes festival, and the September-dated Kang Je-gyu-directed tear-jerker “1947 Boston” from its B.A. Entertainment unit.
The company said that it operates a twin track strategy of working with established writers and directors, which could appear risky, though at the same time it is having positive results with bringing on new creative talent.
“There is a tension between increased production volumes and maintaining high quality, but that is a good reason to bring on new talent,” Park told Variety. “Also, we understand that all genres and nationalities of content go in cycles, and rise and fall in audience popularity over time. We’ve seen this with Marvel, for instance. The best response to that is to be prepared. And there too we see working with new talent as an investment in the future.”
Park said that relations with Wiip were very healthy and involve two-way cooperation between the U.S. and Korean business units. Development activities, however, have been temporarily suspended in response to the Hollywood writers’ strike.
Inspired by the fictional Broadway show from Hawkeye on Disney+, Disney Parks and Marvel Studios made this MCU moment (and reoccurring Easter egg) an actuality by creating a real live theater adaptation for the Disneyland Resort.
Apart from Hawkeye‘s “Save the City” showstopper, Rogers: The Musical‘s creatives were tasked with creating several new Marvel-inspired musical numbers, one of which featured the star of Secret Invasion and sparked a strong reaction from the Marvel Studios President.
Kevin Feige’s Response to Singing Nick Fury
Marvel
Following a media preview for Rogers: The Musical, Disney and Marvel creatives revealed Kevin Feige’s initial reaction to the musical stylings of Nick Fury.
Just like in Captain America: The First Avenger, Fury appears in Rogers: The Musical when Steve realizes he’s no longer in the 1940s and missed his date with Peggy.
Where Rogers: The Musical differs, however, is with the musical number titled “What You Missed,” where Fury gives Cap that notebook from The Winter Soldier and fills him in on major historical and pop cultural events through song.
Yes, this means the former SHIELD director sings about Star Wars (another franchise in which Samuel L. Jackson has a role), as well as I Love Lucy, the Berlin Wall, the moon landing, Steve Jobs, and even Nirvana.
What Marvel audiences will especially appreciate is the one last thing Steve missed – the existence of other remarkable people like himself – and which perfectly dovetails into a musical retelling of Fury’s Avengers Initiative speech.
David Bushore, the Vice President of Franchise Creative and Marketing at Marvel Studios, began telling this Kevin Feige story by explaining, “We’re watching it at WDI (Walt Disney Imagineering), and Nick Fury’s singing…”
“I have to set this up. So Dan brings me the animatic, and we’re watching it at WDI, and Nick Fury’s singing. And, I’m like, ‘Ok, interesting. Um, what?’ And then, we talked about it and you explained it and I went, ‘Ok, I get it, I get it, I get it. Cool. Cool. Cool.’ And, then we took it to Kevin, we’re sitting in Kevin’s office, me and Dan [Fields]…”
That same Dan Fields, who serves as the Executive Creative Director at Disney Live Entertainment, continued, saying, “And Kevin [Feige] says, ‘Nick Fury sings? That should be on the billboard!'”
“And Kevin says, ‘Nick Fury sings? That should be on the billboard!’ He said, ‘Embrace that. Lean into that.’ So that kind of trust between the studio and the entertainment and Imagineering and the scope of these amazing consultants and collaborators, that’s where that energy comes from. We get to create something new.”
Feige Knows What MCU Fans Want
It’s no secret that Kevin Feige is a fan of the concept of Rogers: The Musical.
Then, at the 2022 D23 Expo, the studio president actually chose to kickstart Marvel Studios’ panel with an energetic live performance of “Save the City.”
Whether he knew then that the number would be performed in an actual Rogers: The Musical across the street at the Disneyland Resort’s Disney California Adventure is unknown.
However, it does explain why he was on board with a melodious Nick Fury; and the fact he encouraged Dan Fields to “embrace that” not only illustrates the trust Marvel Studios has with Disney but also his own understanding of what piques audience interest and wins over fans.
And, as usual, Feige knew best. Nicholas J. Fury’s “What You Missed” is a major crowd-pleaser and a surprising reward for those, particularly well-versed MCU fans.
Rogers: The Musical is being performed at Disney California Adventure’s Hyperion Theater (and next to Avengers Campus) Tuesday through Saturday most weeks from June 30 to August 31, 2023.
Set to release on December 20, Aquaman 2 is the sequel to the financially successful Jason Momoa-led Aquaman and the final film of the former DC slate.
Aquaman star, Amber Heard, is also facing criticism ahead of her reprisal due to the public defamation lawsuit between herself and her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, which she lost.
DC
In talking about her next film and hopes for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom despite DC’s latest string of superhero flops, Amber Heard acknowledged to Deadline, “There’s a ton of pressure on these big franchise movies” and “compromises” are part of making the movie “the most successful thing it can be:”
“Oh, of course. These are very different kinds of projects representing two very different ends of the spectrum in my industry. There’s a ton of pressure on these big franchise movies, with millions and millions of dollars at stake, and compromises are part of trying to make it the most successful thing it can be. Then on the other end of the spectrum is a small indie film like ‘In The Fire,’ a work of art and work of love, with nowhere near the same resources, and so there are compromises there. The best luck you can have as an actor is to be able to balance both.”
As for her role as Mera in Aquaman 2 which surprisingly (and for some fans, frustratingly) remains in spite of her civil case against Johnny Depp, Heard confessed that she’s “honored” to be part of the franchise:
“‘Aquaman,’ that franchise and the machinery behind it, I’m very honored, honored to be a part of that. And then there are these small passion projects like ‘In The Fire,’ where I’m proud to have gotten to know the filmmaker and the cast, and we got dirty together, to breathe life into this story. There’s something cool about that, and I think success is an actor who is able to have both those things.”
Will Amber Heard’s Role Hurt Aquaman 2?
While only time will tell whether Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom can deliver in the wake of recent DCU flops, the public’s view of Amber Heard could be a factor in the film’s performance.
After all, Heard isn’t the first controversial DCU star in recent months.
Ezra Miller’s legal issues leading up to The Flash were equally public, leading some to believe they negatively affected ticket sales.
While Miller’s situation differs from Heard’s, and she plays a supporting character and not a lead, the fact remains that she – like Miller – is a controversial figure and will be difficult to explain, not to mention market to fans.
At the moment, it seems like the studio is gambling on audiences not being swayed by Amber Heard’s role.
While surprising, especially since the last gasp of the DCU needs all the help it can get, it’s also worth noting that Aquaman 2 was filmed prior to the actress’s legal backlash.
For now, it will be interesting to see whether the fallout surrounding The Flash will lead the studio to blink on its Amber Heard gamble or ride out the storm with a focus on 2025’s Superman: Legacy.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom arrives in theaters on December 20.
Following the reveal of new characters for Granblue Fantasy Relink and Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, Cygames shared their teaser trailers and artwork.
This July 4th, our “Deals of the Week” give your toolkit a camera upgrade.
July 4th is coming in hot. Whether it be the weather or sizzling sales on some of the best-budget cinema cameras on the market. If you’ve been eyeing a camera upgrade for your kit, look no further than Canon, Blackmagic Design, and Panasonic.
While they’re not the hottest new camera on the market, these three tools can still give you some of the best images any camera can produce.
For creatives needing a hybrid camera for professional photo still and cinema video production, the Canon EOS R5 C Mirrorless Cinema Camera is THE tool to have in your kit. Built specifically for a hybrid workflow, the R5 C pumps out fantastic image quality for both photos and video. With a simple switch, the R5 C is a full-featured still photo camera with all the R5 EOS mirrorless camera settings. Flip the switch, and it becomes a full-frame 8K60 Cinema EOS camera that internally records 12-bit Cinema RAW Light footage.
The R5 C also enhances a number of features in comparison to its siblings, the R5 and C70, including 4K120 recording, HDMI RAW output, Canon Log 3 HLG/PQ support, unlimited recording time, a timecode port, Dual Pixel CMOS AF with eye detection, an active cooling system, a high-power LP-E6NH battery, 13 reassignable buttons, and a multi-function shoe for XLR adapters.
The camera also retains the reliable features of those cameras, such as Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, footage compatibility with DaVinci Resolve and Canon apps, an electronic RF mount, CFexpress/SD card slots, a similar button layout, and more. All of this is packed into a tiny 1.7 lb body that’s just asking to become your go-to tool.
The Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 is the perfect middle ground of sensor size and budget. Featuring a 6K S35 sensor, creatives will find the professional recording features, dynamic range, interface ports, and controls of the 6K Pro, but in a more affordable form. Features inherited from the 6K Pro 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.
By eliminating the internal ND filters and reducing the LCD brightness compared to the 6K Pro model, Blackmagic now enables users to choose between two near-identical 6K models that best suits their priorities.
The Blackmagic Design 6K G2 camera also comes with a DaVinci Resolve Studio activation key, which is an industry-standard application that everyone should have on their workstation. This camera is one of the most affordable professional cinema cameras that won’t break the bank. If there’s one camera you need in your toolkit, this should be it.
A pioneer in the Micro Four Thirds class, the Lumix GH series redefined how mirrorless cameras are used in professional workflows. They even rival some full-frame cameras. This Panasonic Lumix GH6 is powerful hybrid addition to the video-centric GH series that offers cutting-edge tech to cinematographers and photographers alike.
The improved processing power of the Venus Engine enables fast sensor readouts for an internal recording of 5.7K 30p in Apple ProRes 422 HQ, FHD 300p, and handheld 100MP photos. The GH6 correctly exposes across 13+ stops, features in-body and sensor-shift stabilization, and can be spliced into VariCam footage with its pre-installed V-log image profile.
The sensor was also redesigned from the ground up, improving upon its predecessors with new silicone and software. It has an improved 13+ stops of dynamic range despite its reduced cell size due to the increased number of pixels on the Micro Four Thirds sensor.
This compact, lightweight camera features UHD 4K capture, a 1″ CMOS sensor, two XLR audio inputs, and one mini-HDMI output which fits perfectly into the ENG category for documentary or journalism-style productions. Updated from its XA55 predecessor, this model features a larger 3.5mm LCD capacitive touchscreen display, a higher resolution tiltable 0.36″ OLED EVF, OSD metadata recording, and fast USB Type-C video-only output with UVC support for live streaming to a computer.
The lens optics include an integrated 15x HD optical zoom, a nine-bladed circular iris for more natural highlights, and wide DR gamma support for low-light recording. The camera’s pro-style features include Dual-Pixel and Contrast autofocus, fast and slow-motion recording, full manual control, optical and electronic image stabilization, a 3.5″ touchscreen LCD, user-assignable buttons, infrared mode, and a DIGIC DV 6 image processor with high sensitivity and low noise. The XA70 also has display monitoring features such as zebra, color bars, and test tone, plus a built-in neutral density filter mechanism.
The camera records UHD 4K30 and Full HD 1080p60 captured to dual SD card slots in XF-AVC and MP4 formats, and it outputs to a mini-HDMI port. The dual SD card slots allow for automatic switching from one card to another, as well as simultaneous recording to both. The camera can also output up to 1920 x 1080p 10-bit 4:2:2 video at 59.94 fps via its mini-HDMI output. On the audio side, the XA70 features up to four channels of LPCM audio with manual/automatic recording levels, two XLR inputs with phantom power, and a 3.5mm stereo mini input. It features a built-in stereo microphone as well as a headphone jack, and a 2.5mm LANC input for control.
While it won’t be a perfect tool for every project, a good camcorder can be an efficient way to capture footage for run-and-gun productions, be it in documentary, narrative, or even that skateboarding video you’ve been dying to shoot with your friends.
Which of these cameras do you want in your toolkit? Let us know in the comments!
EXCLUSIVE: The Europe-based Pop Up Film Residency mentorship program has unveiled the filmmakers and mentors who will participate in its summer 2023 edition.
The program, which is among several feature development initiatives spearheaded by former TorinoFilmLab artistic director Matthieu Darras, consists of three-week residencies focused on mentoring filmmakers through the development of a feature project. Darras works together with Polish producers Iza Igel and Marta Lewandowska. This year the residency will be mounted in Warsaw and Wroclaw, Poland, from July 4 — 25.
Mentors for the upcoming edition include Polish director Anna Jadowska (Woman On The Roof, Tribeca 2022), Ukrainian director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk (Pamfir, Cannes 2022), Polish director Aleksandra Terpinska (Other People, Tallinn 2021), Hungarian—Canadian writer/director Anita Doron (The Breadwinner, 2017), Script consultants Michaela Sabo and Aleksandra Swierk, and Lithuanian producer Marija Razgute (Slow, Sundance, Karlovy Vary 2023).
Five feature directors will join the program, including Polish filmmaker Katarzyna Trzaska, whose last feature, Nauka Latania, screened at the Warsaw Film Festival. She will develop her new feature Against the Grain, which tells the story of Gaba, a nail specialist from the city of Lodz, whose daily routine circles among clients in the beauty salon and her working-class family and friends. Her life turns upside down when she meets Zocha, a radical feminist activist from a wealthy family who wants to change the world for the better.
For the first time this year, a project from Ukraine will join the residency. Filmmaker Alina Matochkina will join the program with Mother, a feature set in Kyiv in 2016. The plot follows Lidia (25), who moved to the capital seven years ago from a provincial town in eastern Ukraine, where her parents still live. She has a highly complex relationship with her mother, they do not accept each other’s lifestyle, communicate in different languages, and see each other only on New Year’s Eve. This relationship negatively affects Lidia’s self-acceptance and self-actualization. She uses her knowledge from psychology podcasts to improve the situation with her mother. From a new acquaintance, Lidia learns that the key to changing the situation lies not in altering her relationship with her mother, but in changing her own attitude towards her. Now Lidia must reboot her own system.
The residents are selected through a network of creative partners including the Karlovy Vary IFF’s Eastern Promises Industry Platform in the Czech Republic, the Febiofest Bratislava in Slovakia, the Budapest Debut Film Forum in Hungary, the Platform for Scriptwriters Terrarium in Ukraine, and the New Horizons Film Festival in Poland.
“The Pop Up Film Residency Visegrad will definitely nurture films that capture Central Europe’s zeitgeist, with an appetite for stories that can be violently and funnily satirical, highlighting and mocking the many contradictions and antagonisms of Visegrad countries’ conservative and prejudiced societies,” Darras said. “Prepare for exacerbated generational gaps and plenty of wealth inequality. Christian kitsch vs radical feminism; devoted male strippers and (non)-gay altar boys; plastic surgeries, nail beauty salons, and psychology podcasts. Our emerging filmmakers don’t spare their characters for a second, plunging them into whirlpools of confusing emotions. Does any of it make sense? Can the wild parties be overcome? Let’s hope for pacified closures or maybe not.”
The complete list of summer 2023 projects:
Katarzyna Trzaska with Against the Grain (Poland) Producers: Zygizaga Robert Zygmuntowski and Joanna Banach Synopsis: Against the Grain tells a story of Gaba, a nail specialist from the city of Lodz, whose daily routine circles among clients in the beauty salon and her working-class family and friends. Her life turns upside down when she meets Zocha, a radical feminist activist from a wealthy family who wants to change the world for the better.
Terézia Halamová with The Hour Between Dog and Wolf (Czech Rep./Slovakia) Producer: Natalia Pavlove Synopsis: The Hour Between Dog and Wolf details the wild journey of Rudo (25) and four other male strippers on their annual tour through the Czech Republic via Poland and Slovakia. Busy nightly performances are interrupted by the everyday reality of small towns. Wild parties, Christian kitsch, and bottomless drug abuse. Why can’t a man be happy from the moment he wakes up until he falls asleep?
Anna Korom with Lady Sunshine (Hungary) Co-writer: András Soós. Producer: Anna Szijártó Synopsis: Mária (55), a reclusive beautician, spends all her money on plastic surgeries. She lives and works in a run-down district of Budapest. One day as she appears on a Talent TV show, she reunites with the love of her youth, Kálmán (60). However, he doesn’t recognise her. Desperate to avoid exposure, she undergoes more and more surgeries, that only bring her closer to being revealed.
Alina Matochkina with Mother (Ukraine) Producer: Eugene Rachkovsky Synopsis: Kyiv, 2016, Lidia (25) moved to the capital seven years ago from a provincial town in eastern Ukraine, where her parents still live. She has a highly complex relationship with her mother (44), they do not accept each other’s lifestyle, communicate in different languages, and see each other only on New Year’s Eve. This relationship negatively affects Lidia’s self-acceptance and self-actualization. She uses her knowledge from psychology podcasts to improve the situation with her mother. From a new acquaintance, Lidia learns that the key to changing the situation lies not in altering her relationship with her mother, but in changing her own attitude towards her. Now Lidia must reboot her own system.
Daniel Rihak with My World Upside Down (Slovakia) Co-Writers: Peter Gašparík and Ján Štiffel. Producer: Martina Saková Synopsis: My World Upside Down is a comedy about an altar boy from a small conservative village in Slovakia. Miško (12) needs to solve a complicated problem. He wants to be just like his brother Lukáš (17) – big, strong and reasonable. Yet he’s still small, naive and secretly in love with his brother’s girlfriend Linda (16). While trying to impress her, a misunderstanding happens and the whole village starts to think Miško is gay. He tries in vain to get rid of the accusation, nobody wants to play with him or talk to him. The only one left is Jesus. Will they be able to overcome the prejudices together?
In a town — where on any given night — you can see the most downloaded pop artist of all time, the top Grammy-award winning country artist of the last three decades, or the first artist to reach over three billion views on a music video on YouTube, deciding who to see is the toughest part of your next Las Vegas getaway.
In 2023, the Las Vegas residency competition is fierce with more than two dozen options from which to choose. Find out who is performing up and down the Strip, what makes their shows unmissable and why these are the hottest tickets of the year.
Ahead, see the best Las Vegas residencies to catch in 2023.
Carrie Underwood: Reflection — The Las Vegas Residency
Carrie Underwood, who opened Resorts World Theatre in December 2021, is back with a new run of dates in 2023 for her Las Vegas residency, Reflection. The show — featuring dazzling special effects, pyrotechnics and extravagant sets that can’t be moved from city to city — puts Underwood onstage with her band, dancers, aerialists and a virtual orchestra for 90 minutes. Her fans devour every ounce of spectacle as they do with all “Carrie content,” which has made her the most-followed country artist on Instagram and most followed female country artist on Twitter and Facebook. To put it not so lightly, she has sold more than 85 million records worldwide and recorded 28 No. 1 singles.
“My guitar player Matt put it perfectly, it is like an award-show greatest hits,” Underwood shares with The Hollywood Reporter. “In Vegas, we keep it high energy. We want the best of the best and stuff that people know, can have fun with and sing along to. There’s no other agenda except to put on the best show we possibly can.”
For this turn at Resorts World Theatre, she added a new song “Denim & Rhinestones” from her latest album to the 20-track set list — which feels like the ultimate highlight reel of her 15-year career, with her biggest hits “Before He Cheats,” “Blown Away,” “Cry Pretty” and the finale, “Something in the Water.” Underwood delivers the spirit of Nashville and the glitz, glamour and spectacle that Las Vegas audiences have come to expect.
“In Vegas, everybody’s from everywhere. All ages, all states, so many different countries and they’re all in one place to have a good time. When I am on stage, looking out at the audience, there’s a lot of diversity. This is one place where people come to just have fun,” she says.
“Reflection” also gives Underwood the stability of being in the same place every day and night, which she finds a crucial way to stick to her strict training regimen. Google Carrie Underwood’s legs and be awed, then experience her workouts yourself with circuit-training fitness app, Fit52, launched in 2020. She released a companion book, the New York Times bestseller, Find Your Path.
Underwood just finished the 43-city U.S. arena tour for Denim and Rhinestones in support of the album of the same name, her 10th consecutive career Top 10 debut on the Billboard Top 200 chart for all genres. The deluxe edition of Denim & Rhinestones comes out Sept. 22, featuring six new tracks including “Out of That Truck” and “Take Me Out.”
She also recently launched her SiriusXM channel, Carrie’s Country, a 24/7 channel curated by the superstar, highlighting her friends, favorites and influences — and the stories behind her music. Expect a rotation ranging artists such as Keith Urban, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones and Guns N’ Roses.
In between her “Reflection” summer and fall runs, Underwood joins the Guns N’ Roses’ World Tour on select North American stadium dates this August including Croix-Bleue Medavie Stadium in Moncton, New Brunswick; Parc Jean Drapeau in Montréal; and Geodis Park in Nashville.
As far as fellow artists she is excited to see in Las Vegas, Underwood hopes she will have a chance to catch another Oklahoman, Garth Brooks. “I saw him years ago at my bachelorette party [during his shows at Wynn],” she says.
This year will be your last opportunity to see Katy Perry’s Play as the two-year run comes to close at Resorts World Theatre. More than the standard greatest hits residency show, Perry put her all into the “Perry Playland”-themed production, littered with larger-than-life anthropomorphic household objects. Designed by Baz Halpin and Silent House Productions, responsible for Perry’s Prismatic Tour and her unforgettable 2015 Super Bowl performance, Play has the whole cast of characters from Kitty Purry and Left Shark to talking bed pillows, grooving gym socks, and robots doing the robot.
The show is an homage to her grandma and aunt who worked at the Stardust — the casino formerly on the site where Resorts World now sits — as a seamstress and a showgirl, respectively. After it’s gone, we will never forget the glitter, sequins and feathers, cupcakes, peppermints and Perry’s distinct signature in the Las Vegas residency guest book.
With a night of pyrotechnics, guitar jams and a gravity-defying 45-foot catwalk that puts the artist within arms reach of almost every audience member, there is no performer on the Strip right now that brings the good vibes, booty shakin’ and margarita consumption quite like Luke Bryan. Expect every night to be a sold-out sing-along.
To see Garth Brooks in concert is to never forget seeing a Garth Brooks concert. Whether you are a country music fanatic or just claim “Friends in Low Places” as your karaoke song, there is no other artist out there today that cranks it up to 100 onstage like Brooks. That is one of the reasons why Garth Brooks/Plus One at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace is such a special night out in Las Vegas. It gives fans the opportunity to see a stadium-level artist in an intimate 5,000-seat venue.
Brooks’ two-and-half hour performance spans close to three dozen songs, many of which are covers of his favorite artists (Otis Redding, Bob Seger, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, James Taylor and many more) and the setlist is unique every night with no two shows ever the same. Band members change, special guests pop up and Brooks effortlessly bounces back and forth between solo and group arrangements. While Brooks takes the front of the stage, his “cast of characters” hang out on stage in a bar-style setting awaiting their turn. The whole thing has a spontaneous, organic vibe that is unmatched in any other residency.
One sure bet though is an appearance from wife Trisha Yearwood. Their duet on A Star Is Born‘s “Shallow” has become the stuff of legend, but don’t try to find it online as audience members are asked to lock up their phones upon entry. You will only have 45 chances to see Brooks between 2023 and 2024 and you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to do so.
In November 2022, Las Vegas audiences were finally treated to the Adele show that had waited almost an entire year for due to production delays. Now the winter of Adele transforms into summer and fall of Adele with the 16-time Grammy winner signing on for 34 more weekends at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
To say the notoriously stage-shy singer has warmed up to residency life is an understatement as those well-documented opening night jitters and copious tears have all been wiped away by standing ovation-worthy renditions of every song in her 20-track setlist. Keep track of her custom gowns on Instagram where she posts each weekend’s singular black dress and watch the Monday headlines for her current events banter, which has her engaging the audience with probing questions about “Scandoval” and “if money were no object, would you take the Titan submersible?”
He roller-skates while singing and dancing. He makes it rain. He serenades the celebrity audience members who turn up to see him regularly. And let’s not forget those Ush Bucks and that pole-dancer vignette. If Las Vegas could claim a “main character” in 2023, it would be Usher. Celebrating two years since the start of his residency career, the eight-time Grammy winner has made a huge splash on the Strip and recently became a bonafide Las Vegas resident with an address and all. (Before landing at his permanent digs at Park MGM, he was at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.)
Lucky for us, he doesn’t hide his smooth moves and infectious sex-driven lyrics behind closed doors; he shows them off during a 32-song greatest hits parade through his 30-year career, including “Yeah,” “U Remind Me,” “My Boo,” “Love In This Club,” “OMG” and “You Make Me Wanna …”. As immersive as it gets, the audience is an additional castmember in Usher’s antics as the onstage action such as extravagant costumes and state-of-the-art technology in lighting, video and special effects spills over to the throbbing crowd. First and foremost, though, My Way is the party we can count on to always be a good time.
Produced by Las Vegas residency all-stars Baz Halpin and Parker Genoway of Silent House, Maroon 5’s custom-designed show for the Dolby Live stage immerses the audience in the pristine Dolby Atmos audio experience. Rattling through 20-plus songs from their 20-year career, Adam Levine moves like a comet with moves like Jagger — up and down the stage, into the audience and all around the theater for 90 minutes of ecstatic pop shirtless tattooed bliss.
Bruno Mars returns for his seventh year in residency at Park MGM’s Dolby Live. He most recently occupied the theater as part of a limited-run with his supergroup Silk Sonic and gave Vegas a spin as a solo act for a limited number of dates this year. A new album and world tour are coming soon so expect more announcements from the new King of the Strip.
Kelly Clarkson is finally getting her residency in Las Vegas, three years after it was delayed due to the pandemic. Better late than never for the singer and talk show host who promises every night of the show will be different. However, don’t expect a Vegas-style spectacle, Clarkson promises a stripped-down production, to match the vibes of her Chemistry album.
Keith Urban jumped ship from his successful gig — which launched in 2019 — at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace over to Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood. No matter where he is, the fans flock for the love of the music as Urban loves to pull deep cuts and rare gems out of his bag of tricks much to the delight of fall. During the show, Nicole Kidman has been known to pop up in real life as an audience member and in an intimate video montage of their wedding.
Country music dominates the Las Vegas residency scene, in part because its demographic has major spending power — of this notion, Miranda Lambert is proof of concept. Her “Velvet Rodeo” residency audience on any given night is packed with rhinestone cowgirls and cowboys, loving every minute of the 90-minute hit parade from 2022’s “Actin’ Up” to 2005’s “Kerosene.” The most fiery moment, however, comes with the finale of “Gunpowder & Lead” as the fringed sleeves of Lambert’s pink Idyllwind jacket burst into sparkling flames.
Twenty years ago, reality stars fueled the nascent Las Vegas club scene with weekly headline-making appearances. Fast forward to 2023 and they are finding their way back to the Strip and into the residency scene. Welcome Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, who not only has a massive television following but has racked up nine No. 1 singles on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart throughout her 16-year career. Bet It All on Blonde promises a true Las Vegas dance party as she debuts new music, revisits her club anthems and dabbles in covers.
Legendary singer-songwriter and 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Lionel Richie makes his way to Encore Theater at Wynn with an all-new show, King of Hearts.
Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t think it’s time for his Harry Potter to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
In an interview with ComicBook.com, the actor opened up about the Harry Potter series coming to Max, which is set to bring the books by controversial author J.K. Rowling to life, with each one earning its own season in the decade-long show. When asked if fans could expect his beloved version of the Boy Who Lived to make an appearance in the reboot, Radcliffe confirmed the chances are pretty low.
“My understanding is that they’re trying to very much start fresh, and I’m sure whoever is making them will want to make their own mark on it and probably not want to have to figure out how to get old Harry to cameo in this somewhere,” he told the website. “So, I’m definitely not seeking it out in any way.”
Nonetheless, The Lost City star explained that he wishes the actor who takes on the role next “all the luck in the world,” adding, “I’m very excited to have that torch passed, but I don’t think it needs me to physically pass it.”
The Hollywood Reporter exclusively reported in January 2021 that a Harry Potter show was in the works at then-HBO Max. The news officially broke this April, when Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced the plans for the live-action series during a presentation about how HBO Max and Discovery+ would be integrated after the merger.
This is how Max described the series: “The stories from each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books will become a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for. The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over 25 years. Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.”
That same day, Cabello did a quick costume change for the Giambattista Valli Haute Couture show, giving us yet a sultry underboob moment in a glamourous Barbiecore gown. Though she wore her hair up in a top knot for the first show, she let her hair down in loose waves while updating her beauty look with a more dramatic lash and glossy lip. She topped the look off with a hot pink bag, embracing the fashion world’s current obsession with all things Barbie while still referencing past looks with the dress’ bold cutouts.
For a moment, let’s return to the summer of 2022. A few days after pairing her denim short shorts with a boob hammock crop top at Coachella, she gave the unexpected silhouette a sexy, underboob-baring update at the Met Gala in a white Michael Kors gown. By February 2023, she was wearing a bra made of nothing but pearls to the Grammy Awards.
Camila Cabello is seen leaving her hotel on July 3, 2023, in Paris, France.
MEGA
Both Paris Fashion Week looks manage to bring Cabello’s favorite summer pieces straight into the 2023 fashion landscape, proving you never have to abandon your personal style to stay on-trend. Keep doing you, Camila Cabello!
OAK CLIFF FILM FESTIVAL 2023 REVIEW! Never has an alien abduction story been so sweet than in Jake Von Wagoner’s feature, Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out.
Long ago, little Calvin (Jacob Buster) was instilled with the love of astronomy by his father, Cyrus (Will Forte). As the two sit on their rooftop awaiting the arrival of a comet to shoot across the sky, Calvin’s mother, Vera (Elizabeth Mitchell), comes home. When Cyrus goes to greet her, Calvin hears a commotion, then a bright light…his parents have just been abducted by aliens.
Years later, the teenager Itsy (Emma Tremblay) and her family move next to Calvin’s home. Itsy is upset that her family moved to the middle of nowhere and desperately wants to return to her former home in New York City. Her only shot is to team up with her calculating classmate Heather (Landry Townsend) and win a journalism scholarship.
The two decide to run a story on the weird Calvin, who lives alone in his family home and always talks about space, aliens, and one day being reunited with his parents when the comet that took them returns. It’s decided that Itsy will go in and befriend Calvin for the sake of the story. Calvin introduces her and her precocious brother, Evan (Kenneth Cummins), to his super-secret astronomy lab.
“…lives alone in his family home and always talks about space, aliens, and one day being reunited with his parents…”
I really shouldn’t like this movie. It’s a movie for kids in that pre-teen range. But for someone with kids in this age range and a film critic, I have to see these kinds of movies and pray there’s something for us old folks.
Besides having Will Forte and Elizabeth Mitchell in minor roles, there’s not much for this old guy. That said…there’s just something endearing about this film. Maybe when it’s all said and done, it’s a love story, and who doesn’t love that? Yeah, the alien stuff is pretty silly, but ultimately, Calvin is a likable character, and from the start, we feel for him. He’s a lost individual whose life is about reuniting with his parents one day.
In turn, Itsy is that force that ultimately grounds him to reality while at the same time becoming grounded in the face of her life-changing for what appears to be the worse. As Itsy, Emma Tremblay is the one who has the true character arc, and she nails the role with her fantastic performance. I believe she fell in love with the weirdo, which, if anything, gives hope to weirdos.
The story through the first two acts makes up for a strange third act that is not worth spoiling. It’s not that the third act is bad, but it certainly would have been if not for an exceptional first two.
Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out is a kid’s film and a pretty good one…but it’s still a kid’s film. Yeah, this sounds like a backhanded compliment, but as one who has endured a lot of bad stories over the years, Aliens is quite refreshing to watch.
Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out screened at the 2023 Oak Cliff Film Festival.
Adrian Hassan and Brayden Bowers went at it on the July 3 episode of The Bachelorette. The drama started on the group date, which had Brayden and Adrian on opposing dodgeball teams at the beach. Brayden’s team won, but Adrian earned the title of MVP from Charity Lawson, so he got to join the winners on the nighttime portion of the date. Brayden didn’t hide the fact that he didn’t think Adrian deserved the MVP title, which is how tension began brewing between them.
“Brayden is totally acting like a child,” Adrian said. “I don’t think he’s ready for a relationship with Charity. It seems like he’s here for spring break. You can kind of tell those people that are really serious and the people who are not. I know I’m here for the right reasons.” Adrian also pointed out that he made a big sacrifice to come on the show because he has a daughter at home. He brought his concerns to Charity during their one-on-one time.
Brayden and Adrian on ‘The Bachelorette.’ (ABC)
Although he didn’t specify who he was worried about, Adrian’s concerns were enough to worry Charity. “Adrian alludes to people being here and treating this experience and journey of finding love like it’s spring break,” she said in a confessional. “Truly was not what I was expecting to hear. That could mean people aren’t here for the right reasons.” Charity addressed the group to discuss the situation, and Brayden was certain that he was not the person who she was referencing in the speech.
Things intensified after the second group date, even though Brayden and Adrian weren’t even on it. When the guys got home from the date, they shared that it included Charity and Joey Graziadei breaking the record for longest kiss in Bachelor Nation. Brayden was not happy to hear about it. “To have to sit there and watch somebody? That’s not cool, man,” he complained.
When one of the guys on the date, Josh, admitted that it was still a “great date,” Brayden expressed his disagreement. Adrian called Brayden out for invalidating Josh’s feelings, and they went back and forth about it. In a confessional, Brayden ranted about the situation. “I was angry for him. I’m angry for me,” he said. “I feel like they were disrespected. I’m not gonna put up with someone disrespecting another human being in any regard. I’m going to go pack my bags. To be honest, I don’t know if this is someone I can have a relationship with.”
Brayden wanted to talk to Charity about the situation and said that if he didn’t “hear what [he] wanted to hear,” he was going to “get up and go home.” Instead of having a cocktail party, Charity hosted a pool party for the guys, and Brayden pulled her aside to chat. “I was definitely thrown for a loop yesterday,” he admitted. “I do want to say, I had a lot of doubt in your character to some degree. When I heard what happened, I felt so bad for those guys. I felt like I was lied to in that moment when I heard what happened. I’m going to be honest, I was ready to run away.”
Charity Lawson before a date on ‘The Bachelorette.’ (ABC)
Charity thanked Brayden for being honest about his concerns and assured him that the kissing date wasn’t meant to be “malicious.” Brayden was happy that she was willing to discuss it with him, and they ended their conversation on a positive note. “He was being very vulnerable and opening up,” Charity gushed. “I appreciated his honesty and him being vulnerable. I think he doesn’t hold back, which is nice.”
However, she had a different viewpoint after speaking to Adrian. “Brayden was kind of invalidating Josh’s feelings,” he said. “Brayden was just a little immature. [He said], ‘That’s classless, that’s disrespectful to the guys.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t feel like Charity has been disrespectful.’” Charity was shocked to hear that Brayden allegedly called her “classless,” as that was not what he had previously told her.
“My conversation with Brayden did not reflect what Adrian was saying. It wasn’t the same verbiage,” she pointed out. “Brayden was open with me about feeling sick about the date, but the word classless wasn’t used. So I’m not sure if there was a misinterpretation about what was heard. I’m upset because he is a strong connection.”
Afterward, Adrian confirmed to Brayden that he had shared his feelings with Charity, which led to more tension between the guys. In the end, though, Charity gave them both roses at the rose ceremony, so they will both continue their journeys to finding love with her. We’ll have to see if the drama extends into next week, though!
As “The Bachelorette” Season 20 enters its second week, former Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher shared her words of wisdom for leading lady Charity Lawson, urging her not to “self-sabotage.”
“You’re gonna go through a whirlwind of emotions — it’s going to be the best thing that you ever do, some of the best times of your life, but you’re also going to have moments where you feel completely alone, confused, isolated, and at times really struggling,” Fletcher told TheWrap during a recent interview. “I think in those moments, it’s very easy to start to self-sabotage, and to start to doubt all the things that are actually good … so I always just say, ‘don’t self sabotage, really just be in the moment [and] feel everything that you’re feeling — all those feelings are normal.
Fletcher, who noted that she got to chat with Charity on the ABC reality show, also underlined the importance of being open to “any possibility,” saying “It’s truly amazing what can happen in this sort of that sort of experience.”
This advice clearly worked out for Fletcher, who tied the knot with husband Jordan Rodgers after the pair met on her season of “The Bachelorette” and got engaged on the last day of production in 2016. The duo now hosts USA Network reality series “The Big D,” which brings together recent divorcees looking for their lifelong partner in paradise.
Likewise, Rodgers advised Charity’s suitors to separate their relationship with the Georgia native from their relationship with the other men to ensure they’re being their best selves in front of Charity.
“If you start to let that affect you, you’re not going to be yourself [and] you’re not going to be who you want to be in front of her,” Rodgers told TheWrap. “You kind of have to put blinders on.”
Rodgers also shared his “secret sauce” for getting some extra time with the Bachelorette during group dates.
“Whenever there’s like a mixer, where everyone’s just hanging out [and] you can go talk to the lead if you want to or not, always wait till the end,” Rodgers said. “Always try to be the last one, because the way it works out, you get a little extra time … Most often if you wait till the end, you get that extra time because producers like ‘well, everyone’s already talked to her, so like we’re in no rush,’ and if it’s going well give [them] a little extra time.”
Fletcher interjected to say that waiting till the end of a group date might not always work in the suitor’s favor, however, urging men to “make sure she knows that you’re ready to pursue her.”
“The Bachelorette” premieres Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and is available on demand and on Hulu the day after its premiere.
An unimpeachable masterpiece, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” did nearly as much to change the movie business as “Spielberg’s “Jaws” and Lucas’ “Star Wars” had and cemented Ford as a major movie star. Dr. Jones is tasked by shadowy government officials to track down and stop a Nazi plot to acquire the Ark of the Covenant (which they hope to weaponize). Jones, always the skeptic, doesn’t believe in the mumbo jumbo but goes along with it anyway. Lawrence Kasdan’s richly detailed script, based on a story concocted by Lucas and Philip Kaufman, gives Jones the dashing personality of a matinee hero but also a complicated inner life, one filled with regret and discarded relationships (like Marion Ravenwood, played by Karen Allen). And Spielberg, clearly relishing the opportunity to create a new iconic hero while also developing a beautiful Jewish revenge myth, has never been better. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” isn’t just the high point for the franchise but it is one of the most impressive, creative action movies of all time. (Incredibly, the sequels, of varying qualities, have done nothing to tarnish its power. Neither did the legion of off-brand imitators.) It’s a classic for a reason.
Hillary Clinton’s HiddenLight Productions has partnered with Roger Ross Williams and “The Inspection” director Elegance Bratton on a feature documentary about 1979’s Disco Demolition Night in Chicago.
Known as one of the darkest days in American music history, the incident saw 50,000 white teenagers descend on Chicago’s Comiskey Park to blow up records made by mostly Black artists.
The doc, which is called “The Night Disco Died,” is a co-production between HiddenLight and One Story Up, and will be presented by Impact Partners and Los Angeles Media Fund (LAMF).
The film will be directed and produced by Bratton, produced by Chester Algernal Gordon (“The Inspection”) and executive produced by Oscar winner and One Story Up’s Williams (“Life Animated”), Geoff Martz, and HiddenLight Productions’ Siobhan Sinnerton, Johnny Webb and Brenda Robinson.
Executive producers include: Andrew Blau, Morgan Earnest, Nina and David Fialkow, Bill and Ruth Ann Harnisch, Melony and Adam Lewis, Jenny Raskin, Luke Rodgers, Jeffrey Soros, Nancy Stephens and Rick Rosenthal, Katrina vanden Heuvel, Patty Quillin and Geralyn White Dreyfous. Co-executive producers include Kanani Datan, John and Lauren Driscoll, Lauren Haber, Kelsey Koenig, Okey Onyiuke and Wendy vanden Heuvel.
Bratton and Algernal Gordon, the filmmaking duo who co-run the production company Freedom Principle, are behind the critically-acclaimed film “The Inspection,” which received nominations for the Golden Globes, Gotham, and Film Independent Spirit Awards, and wins including from the NAACP Image Awards and GLAAD Media Awards and stars Jeremy Pope and Gabrielle Union.
Bratton was recently named one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch for 2023. In 2021, Bratton’s nonfiction feature debut “Pier Kids” won an Independent Spirit Award. Following that, he wrote and directed the critically-acclaimed semi-autobiographical narrative and his feature film “The Inspection,” which had its premiere in 2022 and was the Closing Night film at the New York Film Festival. He is currently working on “Hell Fighter,” a documentary about jazz pioneer and music mogul James Reese Europe.
Algernal Gordon has produced acclaimed short films and documentary films including Bratton’s “Pier Kids.” Additionally, they became the first gender non-binary African-American costume designer to compete in competition at the Cannes Film Festival with “Port Authority.”
Roger Ross Williams is an Oscar, Emmy, NAACP Image award, Webby and Peabody award-winning director, producer and writer – and the first African American director to win an Academy Award with his film “Music By Prudence.” Williams directed “Life, Animated,” for which he won the Sundance director’s prize. Williams’ first scripted feature “Cassandro” for Prime Video premiered at Sundance in January.
Siobhan Sinnerton, creative director and senior VP of unscripted at HiddenLight, said: “HiddenLight’s ambition is to spotlight untold stories and to make films that entertain, engage and share voices and perspectives from around the world. ‘The Night Disco Died’ sits perfectly within this remit. To be working with Roger Ross Williams, who has an enormous amount of experience in telling stories that have played a huge part in American culture, is a great privilege.
“From the moment we met Elegance we could tell that his passion and vision for this story were going to make it something very special. We hope it is the first of many brilliant collaborations HiddenLight has with he and Chester.”
Williams added: “We are very excited to be collaborating with HiddenLight and, on a personal level, I am thrilled to be working alongside Elegance — such a brilliant filmmaker — to bring this history of music to the surface again. The importance of highlighting such historically silenced voices cannot be understated, and I look forward to bringing this to audiences everywhere along with our great friends at HiddenLight and Impact Partners.”
Bratton said: “I am so honored to be given this opportunity to shine a light on the story of a dark time in music’s history that is not often told. It’s been a true gift to work beside my producing partner Chester Algernal Gordon, as well as to collaborate with Roger whose work I have admired for a long time.“
Tamannaah Bhatia and Vijay Varma make their relationship official at Lust Stories 2 screening. (Photo: Viral Bhayani)
Tamannaah Bhatia and Vijay Varma admitted to dating each other recently. The two also starred in Lust Stories 2.
After months of speculation, Tamannaah Bhatia recently admitted to dating Vijay Varma. Tamannaah revealed that their relationship began on the sets of Lust Stories 2 “organically”. Lust Stories 2 marks the first collaboration between Tamannaah and Vijay.
Now, Tamannaah has opened up about her relationship with her Lust Stories 2 co-star and why she chose Vijay as her partner. “I cannot enter any equation where women are expected to compromise on their most basic feelings,” she told Mojo Story.
Tamannaah continued, “I’m the happiest I have been. He is a wonderful human being and an equal partner. I think he has a lot of strong women in his life and I feel like that’s what it takes…when you respect those strong women, you respect your woman as well. And that’s what I feel the younger generation needs to learn. We teach sons how to treat women instead of asking women how they should behave with men around them.”
Tamannaah Bhatia and Vijay Varma’s relationship rumours grabbed headlines for a long time now. During a recent interview with Film Companion, Tamannaah confirmed their relationship and said, “I don’t think you can get attracted to someone just because they are your co-star. I have had so many co-stars. I think if one has to fall for someone, feel something for someone it’s definitely more personal, it’s nothing to do with what they do for a living, I mean that’s not the reason why this would happen.”
When asked the actress if things changed for her and Vijay on the sets of Lust Stories 2, Tamannaah confessed their romance and said, “Yes.” Describing Vijay, she added, “He is someone I really look up to. He is someone with whom I bonded very, very organically. With high achieving women, we have this problem, that we think we have to work hard for everything. When something is so simple and you don’t have to walk on eggshells to just be yourself because I think in India we also have this that a woman has to change her entire life for someone… He’s a person who I care about deeply and yeah, he’s my happy place.”
Shrishti Negi is a journalist with nearly eight years of experience in the media industry. She is currently heading the Entertainment team at News18.c…Read More
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