Composer Brian Tyler set the scores for both “Yellowstone” and “1923,” a sound that he believes at its core is “the music of immigrants.”
“The music of the old West is really the music of immigrants,” Tyler tells Variety. “It’s like gypsy musicians and accordions; more humble beginnings. The theme has a tragic lullaby feel.”
Working on varying “Yellowstone” projects, Tyler had to create a recognizable sound that would “connect to the main idea of ‘Yellowstone.’” For that he turned to different instruments including a cello which “spoke the most like a human voice” to the charango which is traditionally made out of armadillo shells.
In order to encapsulate the storyline of the Duttons across each series, Tyler crossed over melodies to evoke “how these inevitable, fatalistic storylines crashed into each other.”
“There’s a signature atmospheric sound to the Duttons themselves as their storyline traversed through history,” says Tyler. “I wanted to do a melody for ‘1883’ and ‘1923’ that would cross over, so there’s this crossover with the two melodies that connects the two stories.”
Tyler’s compositions soundtrack the plot line of the series so much that showrunner Taylor Sheridan would play the music for the actors while on set to evoke the mood of the series.
“As the story progresses, it’s really cool how Taylor Sheridan has been writing this epic, sprawling, tone poem,” says Tyler. “Usually, the music is reacting to the picture. In this way, I write music and send that to him, and then he plays that for the actors. The actors take that in, and they’re influenced by the music, and then they start editing the picture, and it has music in it that I already wrote. So unlike most movies or shows or anything, it’s not a reactive process: Taylor wants it woven into the fabric of everything.”
Watch the full conversation above. Variety’s Artisans is presented by HBO.
Of all the streets to open a record store, one nicknamed Bomb Alley might not have been optimal. Then again this was Belfast in 1977, when the nationalistic, sectarian violence known as the Troubles made retail perilous pretty much everywhere.
The situation did not deter Terri Hooley, who welcomed warring Protestants and Catholics to the shop he had optimistically called Good Vibrations.
“It was like a little oasis in a sea of madness,” Hooley, 74, said in a recent video conversation from Belfast.
The story of a lone man bridging warring communities is the kind of feel-good tale you can easily imagine as a movie, and lo and behold, it became one: “Good Vibrations” (2012), starring Richard Dormer (“Game of Thrones,” “Fortitude”) as Hooley. Colin Carberry and Glenn Patterson then adapted their own screenplay into a stage musical for Belfast’s Lyric Theater, whose most recent production of the show is running at the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan until July 16.
The show, in which members of the cast take turns playing in the onstage band, follows the odyssey of Hooley (played by Glen Wallace) as he started the shop then a label that released early singles by the Undertones and the Outcasts. It also portrays the toll his obsession took on his marriage to the poet Ruth Carr (Jayne Wisener).
“It actually helps you understand what Northern Ireland is now, what Northern Ireland had been,” the musical’s director, Des Kennedy, said. “It’s a real snapshot of that conflict without being about the conflict.”
Hooley discovered the power of music at a young age. “My history starts in 1965 in the Maritime Hotel with Van Morrison and Them,” he said, mentioning one of the biggest stars to ever come out of Northern Ireland. “The ’60s were very colorful for me. Then the Troubles came, and the 1970s were black and white, and horrific.”
His solution was to create a place that would welcome all. “Terri is a true radical,” Patterson said via video from Belfast. “He really believes in the power of transformation, about betterment, about enjoyment, about living to your full potential.”
Hooley, a fan of Hank Williams and the Shangri-Las, was at first confounded by punk, but he quickly embraced the scene, which was blowing up in Belfast just as it was in London or New York.
The movement, however, had a different resonance in Northern Ireland.
“So much of the emphasis then was on what you couldn’t do,” Carberry said of Belfast in a joint chat with Patterson. “You can’t go to that school, you can’t live on that street, you can’t support that football team, you can’t have that friend, you can’t go out with that person — it was all about narrowing options.
“Punk music,” he continued, “was about opening up options: Expand your record collection, expand your group of friends and ultimately expand how you look at the world.”
Eventually, Hooley decided to expand beyond the store. Remembering great Northern Irish bands in the 1960s who had never made it to the studio, he didn’t want the new generation to be similarly erased.
So he started the Good Vibrations label to help preserve the legacy of bands like the Outcasts, Rudi, Protex and most notably the Undertones, who were based 70 miles away in Derry. A couple of the best scenes in “Good Vibrations” actually revolve around the Undertones’ “Teenage Kicks,” which was so clearly an instant classic that the taste-making BBC DJ John Peel played it twice in a row during a 1978 broadcast.
Like many of the Northern Irish punk songs, “Teenage Kicks” celebrated the headiness of being young, rather than spewing out bile: Those kids didn’t have to sing about aggression — they were living it.
“Across the years, people were trying to avoid talking about politics in Northern Ireland,” said the show’s music director, Katie Richardson, who is 34. “Young people were like, ‘We’re sick of this, we want to talk about love, we want to talk about the positive things.’ For me and my generation of musicians, it was the same: Nobody wanted to talk about the Troubles.”
Not that love was doing all that great in Hooley’s own home: His passion for music came at a cost to his relationship with Ruth. “The night that Terri’s first daughter was born, he wasn’t at the hospital; he was at a Siouxsie Sioux gig in Belfast, hanging out backstage,” Kennedy said. The show does find a bit more room for Ruth as a poet, and for the couple’s friends Dave and Marilyn Hyndman (Darren Franklin and Cat Barter).
As Northern Ireland recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement that ended the Troubles, Carberry noted that the commemorations largely focused on the leaders at the negotiation table, to the detriment of the groups and individuals who had tried so hard to make a difference on a smaller scale.
“In a way, ‘Good Vibrations’ is a celebration of those people,” Carberry said. “This is a story about ordinary people who tried to live a different way, and tried to help others live a different way.”
It’s the scene that launched a million Halloween costumes: Richie Tenenbaum waits for his escort from his days on the circuit, his sister, Margot. As usual, she’s late — but well worth the delay as she gets off the bus in her ever-present fur coat and raccoon-rimmed eyes, to the heart-stopping musical cue of Nico’s “These Days.” (Listen on YouTube)
6. The Beach Boys: “Old Folks at Home/Old Man River”
Several Beach Boys songs are used to great effect in “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” but none as stirringly as “Old Man River,” which soundtracks a heavenly moment at the end of the film when the animals find themselves in a supermarket. “Get enough to share with everybody,” Mr. Fox instructs, “and remember, the rabbits are vegetarians and badgers supposedly can’t eat walnuts.” (Listen on YouTube)
7. Françoise Hardy, “Le temps de l’amour”
In “Moonrise Kingdom,” from 2012 and set in 1964, young Sam and Suzy run away together and attempt to live out their own feral version of adulthood on an island. Among their possessions is a portable record player for 45 RPM singles, meaning they can soundtrack their own lives. Just before the awkward beachside dance that results in their first kiss, Suzy puts on Françoise Hardy’s 1962 single “Le temps de l’amour,” an achingly perfect choice for a 12-year-old trying on an air of sophistication like a pair of too-big high heels. (Listen on YouTube)
8. The Rolling Stones: “Ruby Tuesday”
As it’s used in a crucial scene in “The Royal Tenenbaums,” this early Stones classic casts such a rosy, romantic glow that you almost forget that you’re rooting for Richie Tenenbaum to end up with his adopted sister. (Listen on YouTube)
9. The Kinks: “This Time Tomorrow”
Like the Beach Boys in “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” sometimes an Anderson film will feature several songs from a single artist. Anderson’s fifth feature, “The Darjeeling Limited,” conjures its Indian setting by using instrumentals from the films of Satyajit Ray, though its placement of several songs from the Kinks’ 1970 album “Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One” — including the sweetly bleary “This Time Tomorrow” — serve as reminders that the film is filtered through a Westerner’s sensibility. (Listen on YouTube)
10. The Who: “A Quick One, While He’s Away”
Yet another top-tier Anderson montage, from “Rushmore”: a battle of petty acts of revenge between Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) and Blume (Bill Murray), given an anarchic grandeur thanks to this nearly nine-minute epic by the Who. Fun fact: While the version that appears on Rushmore’s official soundtrack is from the Who’s unrivaled 1970 concert album “Live at Leeds,” the version used in the film comes from the storied 1968 BBC special and eventual live record “The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus.” (Listen on YouTube)
The Con Queen of Hollywood: The Hunt for an Evil Genius
By Scott C. Johnson Harper: 256 pages, $30
If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.
You might get a vertiginous feeling as you tear through “The Con Queen of Hollywood,” as if the ground beneath your feet were slowly dissolving with each page turned.
Much like its subject, a possibly psychopathic fraudster who specialized in impersonating powerful female entertainment executives, Scott C. Johnson’s book is a shape-shifter, morphing from true crime investigation to memoir to travelog to an examination of mythology and linguistics and journalistic ethics. If it occasionally tears off more than it can chew, it does so thrillingly and with writerly precision. And despite the thematic depths it mines, it is a rocket of a book that can and should be consumed in a headlong dash for maximum effect.
We begin in a shroud of mystery. A series of artists and craftspeople — a cinematographer, a screenwriter, a still photographer — receive convincing, out-of-the-blue and elaborate solicitations for what sound like dream projects working in Indonesia.
The person who hooks the cinematographer and the photographer (among others) claims to be the powerful Hollywood executive Amy Pascal. “Pascal” strings them along through a steady stream of phone calls, emails and video calls (always with the camera turned off), sending them wandering through foreign lands, sometimes verbally abusing them, all the while insisting they will soon be reimbursed for their financial outlay. And then, Pascal — or, sometimes, Wendi Murdoch or Christine Hearst Schwarzman or Kathleen Kennedy — vanishes like a digital-age Keyser Söze.
Scott C. Johnson’s ‘The Con Queen of Hollywood’ traces a wild story of a con artist and teases out deeper implications.
(Britton Foster)
It’s a crazy story, and Johnson, a longtime journalist and foreign correspondent, takes it in unusual but generally fruitful directions. A private investigator, a hard-charging New Jersey woman, enters the picture and discovers the scam artist’s true identity. So does Johnson, who embarks on his own obsessive journey into this heart of darkness. If you haven’t been following the recent news stories and wish to approach the book in full suspense (the culprit was recently cleared for extradition to the U.S.), this might be a good time to stop reading.
Hargobind Tahilramani was born in Indonesia, the third child of an Indian family that he appears to have tormented from an early age. Deeply antisocial, prone to violent tantrums and long conversations with imaginary friends, he absorbed himself in movies, TV and automated phone sex and became a master of mimicry.
Tahilramani spent time in the U.S., where he was active in the college speech and debate world, and once terrorized two college debaters by threatening them over the phone in the voice of Cate Blanchett. He was eventually imprisoned for making terroristic bomb threats in his native land, where he had also been committed to mental institutions. One of his two sisters, in lieu of using his real name, simply refers to him as “Monster.”
An unhinged, highly imaginative sadist, the Con Queen makes Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley look like a rank amateur. And he proves utterly fascinating to Johnson, who uses his subject as a springboard into a variety of musings and avenues of self-discovery.
This is a risky move; as journalists we are often told that we are not the story. On the other hand, we’re also reminded to write what we know. Regardless of your favorite adage, an author needs to be in full command of their craft to navigate first-person waters.
Johnson may slip here and there as he slides down his chosen rabbit holes, but his gambits are more than worth the reader’s while. Detours into his own family history, Indonesian mythology, the mindset of both predator and prey and his own motives as a journalist don’t just help illuminate his primary target; they also strip away layers of impassivity and turn the book into a more visceral experience.
At one point Johnson draws on Janet Malcolm’s 1990 book “The Journalist and the Murderer” and its controversial opening salvo: “Every journalist who is not too stupid or full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible.” (Malcolm was, of course, a journalist.)
As Johnson tracks Tahilramani, locates him in England (where he was working various scams and moonlighting as a food blogger) and engages him in a series of long, exhausting conversations, he floats in and out of sympathy for the devil, and comes to question his own motives and complicity.
“Con Queen” is largely the story of one disturbed individual and the havoc he was able to wreak. But it’s also about the transactional nature of life itself, the reasons we do what we do and believe what we choose to believe.
The Con Queen, after all, could not have succeeded if his marks hadn’t eagerly walked into the traps he had laid. Tahilramani may just want to watch the world burn, but the rest of us, or most of us anyway, are after something else. “The Con Queen of Hollywood” haunts us with the question of what that thing might be. Just as important, it also happens to be one hell of a yarn.
Nick Fury and Maria Hill found themselves face-to-face with one another in the MCU for the first time since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame in a newly-released clip.
As two of SHIELD’s most decorated and dangerous agents since Phase 1’s early days, Fury and Hill still make up one of the MCU’s most deadly duos with Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders boasting half a dozen credits working together.
Secret Invasion Clip Reunites Nick Fury & Maria Hill
Marvel Studios’ next Disney+ series, Secret Invasion, will reunite the real Nick Fury and Maria Hill for the first time since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, which comes through in the second officially released clip from the series.
The two are seen sitting across from one another at an undisclosed bar in a scene that was teased in the first trailer for the series, with Hill concerned that Fury isn’t on his game following their return from The Blip.
Spider-Man: Far From Home had fans believing that Fury and Hill were together helping Peter Parker until the film’s post-credits scene, where it was revealed that shapeshifting Skrulls Talos and his wife were impersonating the spies all along while Fury was in space.
Marvel Studios, Sony Pictures
The full clip from Secret Invasion can be seen below:
What Are Nick Fury & Maria Hill In For in Secret Invasion?
With Secret Invasion tying directly to Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders’ last MCU appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Fury and Hill will have a few long years of time to catch up on.
Fury and Hill will be two of the most important characters to watch out for in this new Disney+ series, with the former SHIELD agents looking to uncover just how deeply the Skrulls are embedded into Earth’s political landscape.
The 2010s saw the release of some mind-blowing movies like Parasite, Gone Girl,and Arrival. Given the pedigree of such company, it’s only natural that many movies released within the same decade didn’t get their due and were overshadowed by the brilliance of their contemporaries.
That being said, the 2010s was a great decade for movies andthrillers in particular. Apart from the aforementioned blockbusters, the decade ushered in an array of underrated gems, that only seem to grow better with age. So without further ado, get some popcorn, fix yourself a drink, and get ready to be swept away by these following gems.
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10 Searching (2018)
Bazelevs Company
While seeming like a typical missing person-type of thriller on paper, Searchingis so much more due to its treatment and cinematic style. Led by a brilliant John Cho, the film has him play the role of a father that goes through a digital maze of screens and tabs to look for his missing daughter.
Director Aneesh Chaganty’s film sidestepped going down the gimmicky route by aiming for genuine emotions rather than cheap thrills, thereby creating a film that’s not very original, but the effort is laudable.
The 2010s saw Joaquin Phoenix temporarily transform into a dysfunctional man-child of sorts with films like Inherent Vice, Joker,and Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here. Out of touch with the modern-day functioning of the world, Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) is a staple byproduct of toxic masculinity, rendering him traumatized and confused about his situation. Add to this, the violent nature of his job and a little girl that gets sucked into a child-trafficking scandal, and you’re left with a violent thriller, tethered to the goodness of humanity.
Lynne Ramsay’s modern-day take on Taxi Driver is a mood piece that’s nothing like the original, but still a fun film to watch.
8 Headhunters (2011)
Nordisk Films
When a corporate headhunter moonlighting as an art thief steals a valuable painting from a former mercenary, he sets in motion a deadly game of cat and mouse that sets his world spinning. Endowed with a nail-biting climax and a tinge of dark-humor thrown in, Headhuntersis one of the best films to have come out of Norway in the 2010s, with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Aksel Hennie ably leading the film.
The revenge thriller genre sees a dozen entries a year. For a film to make a name in the genre, it has to stand out from the mediocrity of its contemporaries in some way or another. Blue Ruindoes that, as it paints a realistic picture of revenge, that transcends beyond rage and violence into logic and practicality.
Messy and filthy, Jeremy Saulnier’s film has all the workings of a revenge thriller, embodying the rage of losing a loved one, along with the ineptitude of murder, culminating into a film that’s serious with intention yet clumsy with execution.
71takes place in 1971 Belfast, where British soldiers go in to suppress riots between catholics and protestants. After being forced to pull out of the mission, one soldier is left behind by his unit, leaving him to fend for himself against the backdrop of a bloody riot. Instead of going the Rambo route, 71 throws light on the human side of a soldier, exploring the sense of fear and abandonment, meditating on the frivolous nature of violence and those that are affected by it.
Based on the real-life experiment conducted by Stanford University professor Philip Zimbardo, The Stanford Prison Experimenttakes a close look at the dynamics of power and the effects it has on the individual. For his study, the Zimbardo divided his students into prisoners and guards and observed how the position of authority, or the lack of it, impacted the students.
By no means an easy watch, Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s film is an unpleasant experience, unearthing the dark side of humans along with the darker side of power.
4 The Vast of The Night (2019)
Amazon Studios
Going against the grain of big-budget alien projects, The Vast of The Nightleverages a taut script, a small scale, and some brilliant performances, as it presents a fresh take on the alien invasion genre. Set in New Mexico during the ’50s, the film follows a switchboard operator/DJ that picks up strange sounds in the area which eventually turn out to be something far scary and sinister. Andrew Patterson’s debut feature is very reminiscent of the Amblin-type movies, with some great one-shot sequences along with a steady stream of atmospheric tension.
3 Wind River (2017)
The Weinstein Company
Part social commentary, part thriller, Wind Riversees Elizabeth Olsen’s FBI agent Jane Banner team up with a wildlife tracker, Cory Rambert (Jeremy Renner), to solve the mysterious kidnappings of a few Indigenous women.
Taylor Sheridan’s film neatly integrates structured crime into an important conversation about the ill-treatment of the Indigenous people and the loopholes in the law that govern them. Led by a palpable double-team engine of Olsen and Renner, Wind River is one of the most underrated films of the 2010s.
Lee Chang-dong’s Burningdoesn’t flow, it burns. Constantly piling up moment after moment of unease and paranoia, the film starts out as a creepy story about ghosting before finally culminating into a murder mystery. Rather than treating the film as an all-out thriller, dong approaches the film with a poetic gaze, touching upon themes of love, loyalty, and social standing in the modern world.
1 Good Time (2017)
A24
Good Timeis a testament to Robert Pattinson’s pedigree as an actor and the Safdie brothers’ pedigree as directors. For a film made with such limited resources, Good Time plays out as an acid trip gone south, with Pattinson’s Connie Nikas being at the center of the downward spiral.
Along with Pattinson’s watershed performance, The Safdie brothers flex their cinematic muscles as they use various techniques from long zooms to jarring handheld shots to further accentuate the sense of paranoia.
Microsoft’s head of gaming has explained Halo’s absence from Sunday’s Xbox Games Showcase.
Halo Infinite: Season 4 launches on June 20, but Xbox’s most famous franchise was nowhere to be seen during a presentation that featured 27 games.
In an interview with the Guardian, Phil Spencer said significant growth in Xbox’s first-party studio line-up means once dominant franchises no longer need to be front and centre at every Xbox event (Gears of War was also notably absent from Sunday’s showcase).
“I wouldn’t say Halo is of lesser importance, but we have over 20 studios now,” he said. “I’ll go back to the years where I had basically four games – Fable, Forza, Halo, Gears, the four horseman of the apocalypse. We have a lot more games now.”
“We’ve been pretty public about the leadership change at 343,” he said. “You can kind of see that in some of the social things [the team have] been doing around seasons, but I don’t want to force them to talk about their longer-term vision until they’re ready. I think you’ll see some pretty cool things coming.”
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“I feel confident in the leadership team, but the team that got us here is probably not the same team that’s going to take us forward,” he told Axios.
When asked if this potentially meant Activision‘s Call of Duty team could work on Halo should Microsoft’s acquisition of the publisher be completed, Booty didn’t rule it out but also said it wouldn’t be mandated by Xbox management.
Carlson did not name the producer, but Alexander McCaskill, who had long worked at Tucker Carlson Tonight and continued at the network after Fox News pulled Carlson’s show, posted a photo of himself on Instagram departing Fox offices with a box and the message, “Today was my last day at Fox. It’s been a wild 10 years and it was the best place I’ve ever worked because of the great people I met. But the time has come. I asked them to let me go, and they finally did.” The Daily Beast, which first reported on McCaskill’s exit, identified him as the producer Carlson was referring to.
Former Fox News producer Alexander McCaskill, who parted ways with the network for airing the “wannabe dictator” chyron, posted this photo of him leaving Fox offices on his Instagram.
Another senior producer, Thomas Fox, also departed this week, according to The New York Times. McCaskill and Fox had both worked on Carlson’s show. Carlson’s executive producer, Justin Wells, exited in April when Fox News dropped its show.
The chyron, which read “Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested,” appeared on air Tuesday evening as Fox News was carrying Donald Trump’s post-arraignment speech and featured a split screen of Joe Biden addressing a crowd on the White House lawn. The chyron was up only briefly before being taken down, but was flagged on social media.
The next day, the network released a statement saying, “The chyron was taken down immediately and was addressed.”
Carlson, who is engaged in a legal fight with Fox News after his exit, made the incident a centerpiece of his show on Twitter, which he launched last week.
He told viewers that after the chyron appeared and was quickly removed: “Inside Fox, the women who run the network panicked. First they scolded the producer who put the banner on the screen. Less than 24 hours after that, he resigned. He had been at Fox for more than a decade. He was considered one of the most capable people in the building. He offered to stay for the customary two weeks, but Fox told him to clear out his desk and leave immediately. Then the company issued a public apology for the 27-second ‘wannabe dictator’ line. The chyron was taken down immediately, Fox’s PR department said, then added ominously, it was ‘addressed.’”
Carlson then claimed that Fox’s assessment of Trump’s arrest “seemed to overshadow the arrest itself,” citing social media comments made about the chyron by figures like Alexander Vindman and John Cusack.
Fox News did not comment on Carlson’s remarks. The network’s attorneys recently sent him a cease and desist letter over his Twitter show, as Carlson’s Fox News contract runs through the end of 2024. One of his attorneys has accused the network of trying to “silence” him. Talent contracts typically include exclusivity provisions that prevent them from working for other outlets.
McCaskill was among those named in a New York lawsuit filed last spring by another Tucker Carlson producer, Abby Grossberg, in which she described a culture of sexism and retaliation, among other claims. Fox News had said that the lawsuit was “riddled with false allegations.” CNN reported on Thursday that a settlement of Grossberg’s claims was in the works.
Romanian filmmaker Cosmin Nicolae’s “Pyrrhic,” a feature debut about an army veteran sent into a downward spiral after returning home from Afghanistan, took home the top prize Friday at the Transilvania Pitch Stop, the co-production forum of the Transilvania Film Festival. The Chainsaw Europe Post-Production Award comes with €25,000 ($27,400) in post-production services for the winning project.
Nicolae’s war drama follows a veteran returning to her hometown on the Black Sea coast, where a harrowing discovery jeopardizes the process of coming to terms with her traumas and with a drifting society. The film is produced by Velvet Moraru of Bucharest-based Icon Production.
“It’s a very character-driven, observational drama. It’s inspired by a host of characters that I’ve been researching — it’s real people and real experiences,” Nicolae told Variety after the award ceremony. “I’m interested in marginalized characters and liminal spaces, and the way people reflect their surroundings and vice versa.”
The film will reflect the experiences of immigrants from Southeast Asia, who make up a large part of the Romanian workforce but “remain invisible” to the broader society, as well as those of veterans returning from combat zones “carrying all sorts of visible and invisible wounds,” said Nicolae.
“Researching their experience, many people abroad had no idea that Romania has soldiers in peacekeeper missions abroad, so it was important for us to take these stories and make them a little bit more visible,” he added. “Pyrrhic” was also the winner of the CoCo Award for a Romanian or Moldovan project in development, which includes a five-day residency offered by the Connecting Cottbus Co-Production Market.
Among the other awards handed out Friday in Cluj, the TPS Development Award in the amount of €5,000 ($5,500) from Romanian production and post-production house Avanpost went to “The Life We Never Had,” Bulgarian filmmaker Martin Markov’s exploration of the fallout when a failed painter pursues an unnatural obsession. The film is produced by Victoria Mitreva and Vanya Rainova for Portokal.
The UPFAR-ARGOA Award in the amount of €3,000 ($3,300) went to “Second Line,” from Ukrainian director-producer Olga Stuga. Unfolding after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, the film follows the filmmaker’s family as they scatter across Europe, forcing them to make impossible choices between a safe life and their duty before both society and themselves.
The award from Moldova’s National Center of Cinematography in the amount of €1,500 ($1,750) went to “Little Death,” the feature directorial debut of Greece’s Efthimis Kosemund-Sanidis, which tells the story of a debt-ridden young man who sets out to claim his inheritance from his long-estranged father. The film is produced by Greece’s Yorgos Tsourgiannis for Horsefly Films and Romania’s Anamaria Antoci for Tangaj Production.
The Villa Kult Development Award in the amount of €500 ($750) went to “The Circle,” from Moldova’s Vareriu Andriuta, which follows a young detective sent to a remote village to investigate a mysterious death. The film is produced by Iulia Andriuta of Amprenta Films.
Lastly, the Drama Room — the dedicated TV strand of the Transilvania festival’s industry arm — handed out an award for the first time for the best series project to take part in this year’s edition. The award, which includes a pilot development deal with Romanian broadcaster PRO TV, went to “The Kids Are Alright,” a coming-of-age drama from Bucharest-based scriptwriter and director Serghei Chiviriga. The show tells the story of a reckless foreign student who’s sent home from boarding school, forcing his roommates down a dangerous path when they have to decide what to do with his hidden stash of weed and who to trust.
The Transilvania Film Festival runs June 9 – 18.
Pictured: Romanian director Cosmin Nicolae (left) and producer Ioana Moraru.
This comedy has run out of gas. NBC has cancelled American Auto, so there won’t be a third season. The second season of 13 episodes finished airing in April.
A workplace comedy series, the American Auto TV show stars Ana Gasteyer, Harriet Dyer, Jon Barinholtz, Humphrey Ker, Michael B. Washington, Tye White, and X Mayo. Set in Detroit, the story finds the corporate executives of Payne Motors at a crossroads — adapt to the changing times or be sent to the junkyard. Shaking things up is the new CEO, Katherine Hastings (Gasteyer), whose leadership, experience, and savvy is only slightly offset by her complete lack of knowledge about cars. Those also working at the company include Sadie (Dyer), the type-A head of communications; Dori (X Mayo), the sweet assistant to the CEO; Cyrus (Washinton), the Chief Producer Designer; Elliot (Ker), the Chief Sales Officer; Wesley (Barinholtz), the direct descendant of the company’s founder; and Jack (White), an assembly line worker. From the corporate office to the factory floor, the crew of Payne Motors is driving home the laughs.
Airing on Tuesday nights, the second season of American Auto averaged a 0.28 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 1.95 million viewers. Compared to season one, that’s down by 25% in the demo and down by 10% in viewership in the live+same day ratings (includes DVR playback through 3:00 AM). It was one of the peacock’s lower-rated series of the season. In the live+7 day ratings, episodes picked up only 20% more viewers.
Justin Spitzer created American Auto. The cancellation news comes a week after NBC ordered St. Denis Medical to series. Spitzer and Eric Ledgin created the new comedy, and it will star Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs), David Alan Grier, Allison Tolman, Josh Lawson, Mekki Leeper, and Kahyun Kim.
What do you think? Have you watched the American Auto TV series? Are you sorry this NBC comedy has been cancelled instead of renewed for a third season?
Check out our NBC status sheet to track the peacock network’s new series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.
“Barbie” star Margot Robbie gives a tour of her toy character’s fantastic plastic Dreamhouse in a video released by Architectural Digest on Friday.
We learn that “there’s no water in Barbieland,” so Robbie had to mime taking a shower. That also means there’s no swimming in the pool, of course. She also shows off how Barbie gets dressed every morning. She simply walks up to her “magical wardrobe” where the day’s fully accessorized ensemble is already hanging up, looks at it and she’s wearing it.
“This was a design thing that we were really excited about,” says Robbie as she shows off a variety of pink outfits. “We were talking about how in ‘Clueless,’ the wardrobe was set so high, and we’d really like to do something as cool as that.”
In the seven-minute clip, director Greta Gerwig shares they had “so many meetings about pink,” and recalls her excitement at seeing the plastic-wrapped toys behind the counter when she was a girl. “I wanted to capture what was so ridiculously fun about the Dreamhouses,” she says.
Production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer took inspiration from Palm Springs midcentury modernism to create Barbie’s pink fuchsia paradise, complete with slide, pink convertible and a kitchen full of food decals.
Says Robbie of the slide that takes Barbie from bedroom to breakfast each morning, “Not super practical, but nothing is for Barbie.”
“Barbie,” which costars Ryan Gosling, Emma Mackey, Simu Liu and Kate McKinnon, hits theaters on Friday, July 21.
We’re entering a completely new era of growth in the VFX industry, and finding talented artists is one of the biggest challenges we face. The rise of OTT platforms like Netflix and Disney+ means that there’s more demand than ever before for cinematic TV shows, many of which rely heavily on visual effects. What’s more, this shift towards high-quality episodic shows means that the number of shots for a single production is considerably higher than it would be for a feature film.
The changing face of the industry means that we’re having to level up to tackle the VFX talent crisis. At FutureWorks, expanding from the traditional hubs and bringing work to where the talent resides is a key part of our strategy. We’re building an ecosystem of studios, having recently opened a new state-of-the-art facility in Hyderabad.
The growing demand for increasingly sophisticated VFX, coupled with the rise of virtual production, means that it’s vital to have a robust infrastructure in place to support our workforce. For example, new pipelines are needed to cope with the rapid growth in content.
Along with ensuring that pipelines are continually adapted to fit in with ever-changing work demands, visual effects companies must also grapple with the challenge of finding and retaining the best VFX professionals.
Tapping into local talent pools
At FutureWorks, we go where the talent is. As a fast-growing end-to-end film studio, we’ve worked on a wide range of productions including The Peripheral, Darlings, and Westworld, so we’re always on the lookout for both entry-level and experienced artists to bring these projects to life.
That’s why we’re extending our reach and opening up in more cities. Along with our locations in Mumbai and Chennai, our new Hyderabad location is equipped to handle 24/7 operations. This brings more flexibility to our teams’ work schedules, ensuring that they can collaborate seamlessly across time zones, working on projects spanning both the Indian and international film and TV market.
As our second location fully dedicated to VFX services, the new facility can host up to 100 artists, helping us to meet the increasing demand for our services. We first opened the Hyderabad location with a small team connecting remotely during the pandemic. This team played a crucial role in the growth of our VFX offering, directly leading to the expansion.
Building a seamlessly integrated network of studios is essential for supporting the ever-growing workforce in the place that suits them best. We chose Hyderabad because of its rapidly expanding film scene and vibrant artist community. Opening a new facility in a lively creative hub means that our artists can stay connected to our ecosystem, without having to relocate.
Supporting work-life balance
We’ve seen a dramatic shift over the last couple of years in what people expect in terms of work-life balance. By opening new locations outside of the traditional VFX hubs, companies like ours can really tap into the competitive VFX artist market that’s out there. In the coming months, we plan to continue expanding our network with the addition of several new locations across India.
But providing physical workspace in the right place is only one part of the puzzle. It’s also essential to ensure that the opportunities and support offered across different locations are aligned. Operating under the same umbrella of policies as our other locations, our new Hyderabad office offers equal access to training and software, providing a fully supportive environment for our team, rather than just acting as a satellite office to the HQ.
Nurturing a collaborative environment where artists can thrive is essential for any forward-thinking VFX or postproduction house. And expanding that supportive environment to new locations is the only way to attract and retain the best VFX talent in the business.
Gaurav Gupta founded FutureWorks in 2007 from his father’s office, aiming to be a full-service post-production company for a burgeoning Indian film industry. Anticipating the explosion of the OTT market, Gupta built FutureWorks for a new era of content production, rooted in continuous training and innovation.
Today, FutureWorks’ portfolio includes global hits for streaming giants HBO, Amazon Studios, and Netflix, as well as Bollywood blockbusters. In 2022, they opened the FutureWorks Academy, offering a structured pathway into VFX for young professionals. This approach seeks to bridge the gap between education and industry demand, making Media and Entertainment as attractive a career option to entry level talent as Engineering or IT.
For almost two years, the province of New Brunswick has had a policy that required teachers to use the preferred names and genders of schoolchildren. But under a new policy introduced by the provincial leader, Premier Blaine Higgs, teachers must get the permission of parents if the child is under the age of 16.
The new policy, which does not require legislative approval, has created a political firestorm that has the potential to topple his government.
Backlash mounted against him during a week when Canada was outraged by a mother’s accusation that a man questioned her 9-year-old daughter’s gender at a shot-put competition in Kelowna, British Columbia. As my colleague Dan Bilefsky reported, the man denied accosting the girl or her mother, telling Castanet, a local online news website, that he only asked an official if the event was coed.
Criticism and condemnation of Mr. Higgs’s policy came swiftly from L.G.B.T.Q. activists, political opponents, teachers, former public servants and the official who serves as the province’s child and youth advocate. Mr. Higgs’s move also sparked an open revolt within his Progressive Conservative caucus.
Before I arrived in New Brunswick earlier this week to report an unrelated article, six members of the Progressive Conservative caucus, including two members of Mr. Higgs’s cabinet, publicly challenged the premier.
Then on Thursday, the internal party revolt expanded. A third member of Mr. Higgs’s cabinet quit her post largely because of the issue.
With the support of members of Mr. Higgs’s Conservative caucus, the legislature also managed to pass a motion calling on the government to have Kelly Lamrock, the child and youth advocate, review the premier’s plan, in effect, rebuking it.
Mr. Lamrock called the policy “shoddy and inadvertently discriminatory.” Students who do not want their parents consulted will be sent to mental health workers, a move that some have said could become a form of conversion therapy, which is illegal in Canada.
The province’s education minister said that the government had received hundreds of complaints about the policy. But when Mr. Lamrock asked for copies of them, he said he was given three emails sent over two and a half years. None of them, he said, addressed the specific policy and some of them contained homophobic comments.
Bill Hogan, the provincial education minister, said that the government was guided in part by a brief submitted last month by five national organizations involved in gender issues. They include the Ontario-based Canadian Gender Report, which describes itself as opposed to the “medical transition of children, the introduction of gender identity teaching in our schools, and the changing legal landscape that replaces biological sex with the subjective notion of gender self-identity.”
In the midst of the political firestorm he created, Mr. Higgs remains defiant.
After telling the legislature that gender dysphoria is something that has become “popular and trendy,” Mr. Higgs said that the current policy, which his government will replace at the end of the month, creates “an erosion of the family role in child’s upbringing.”
Exactly why the policy has become a concern for Mr. Higgs over the last two years is not fully clear. During the debate on the motion he lost, Mr. Higgs said that it “kind of slid into the system” in 2020 and got broader attention only when people began hearing about drag queen story times in libraries. But a leader of the group that helped develop the 2020 policy that Mr. Higgs is rolling back said the group had been working with the government on the policy for about a decade.
Mr. Higgs said he would heed the legislature’s motion and allow Mr. Lamrock to conduct a review of his policy. The review is due by the end of August. But he did not commit to adopting any of its recommendations. He has also indicated that he was prepared to fight an election over the policy despite the caucus dissent.
I spoke with Gail Costello, a recently retired teacher who is co-chair of Pride in Education, a teachers’ group that was instrumental in the introduction of the soon-to-be-revoked Policy 713, and various other gender identity-related school policies. She said that she believed Mr. Higgs had a much broader agenda.
“If you go after Policy 713, then you can go after the curriculum,” Ms. Costello said. “If you can go after the curriculum, then can you also go after the books in the schools that discuss those parts of the curriculum? You can sort of see the writing on the wall. That’s why it’s important to cut this off right now.”
Ms. Costello said that she believed the premier’s plan would ultimately be struck down by a court and allow her to move onto her newfound retirement passion: pickleball.
“This is another bump on the road,” she said. “I am 100 percent sure that this isn’t going to stand, that changes are going to be made and that the kids are going to be fine in September.”
My colleague Norimitsu Onishi and Renaud Philippe, a photographer based in Montreal, spent three days with 109 French firefighters who are battling wildfires in northern Quebec. Their commander told them if people in the south were wondering “why there’s smoke there, it’s because the fires here are unstoppable.”
In their report on the road tragedy that took at least 15 lives in Manitoba, Kim Wheeler and Dan Bilefsky report that the victims, most of whom were from Dauphin, were just 10 minutes from their destination, a casino, when their bus and a semitrailer truck collided. Another 10 people were injured.
The company behind the Instant Pot, an electronically controlled device that pressure-cooks and slow-cooks food — and was invented in Ottawa by a former Nortel engineer — has filed for bankruptcy protection.
A native of Windsor, Ontario, Ian Austen was educated in Toronto, lives in Ottawa and has reported about Canada for The New York Times for the past 16 years. Follow him on Twitter at @ianrausten.
How are we doing? We’re eager to have your thoughts about this newsletter and events in Canada in general. Please send them to nytcanada@nytimes.com.
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The return of AMC’s series Dark Winds has blown into town, offering its first trailer and key art.
Starring Zahn McClarnon (The Son, Westworld, Fargo), Kiowa Gordon (The Red Road, Roswell, New Mexico) and Jessica Matten (Tribal, Burden of Truth), the series second season is set for Sunday, July 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC, with new episodes airing weekly on Sundays.
Episodes will be available early on AMC+ starting Thursday, July 27, with new episodes every Thursday. Produced by AMC Studios, the second season has six episodes.
A Martinez (Longmire, Days of Our Lives) joins this season as Valencia County Sheriff Gordo Sena, while Joseph Runningfox (The Politician, Valley of the Gods) will portray Henry Leaphorn, Lt. Joe Leaphorn’s father.
This season also sees the return of series regulars Deanna Allison (Accused, Edge of America) as Emma Leaphorn and Elva Guerra (Reservation Dogs, Rutherford Falls) as Sally Growing Thunder. All join previously announced Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Picard, Bosch) who plays Rosemary Vines, and Nicholas Logan (Dopesick, Creepshow), who plays Colton Wolf.
Ahead of the second season, viewers can get caught up on the series on AMC+. Episode 101 is also available to watch for free on the AMC+ YouTube channel.
This season, Lt. Joe Leaphorn (McClarnon), reunites with Jim Chee (Gordon), his former deputy turned private eye, when their separate cases bring them together in pursuit of the same suspect. They find themselves in the high desert of Navajo Country chasing a killer who’s turned his sights on them to protect a secret that rips open old wounds and challenges Leaphorn’s moral and professional code. With the help of Sgt. Manuelito (Matten) and Valencia County Sheriff Gordo Sena (Martinez), Leaphorn and Chee must thwart their would-be assassin and restore balance not only to their own lives, but to the reservation that depends on them.
Based on the Leaphorn & Chee book series by Tony Hillerman, Dark Winds is created by Graham Roland (Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Returned, Almost Human, Fringe). John Wirth (Hell on Wheels, Hap and Leonard) serves as showrunner. The series is executive produced by Roland, Wirth, McClarnon, Robert Redford, George R.R. Martin, Anne Hillerman, Chris Eyre, Vince Gerardis and Tina Elmo.
Oscar-nominated Belgian director Dominique Deruddere believes the shared and universal fear of failure has helped his new film The Chapel resonate with the audience at the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival, where it is in the running for the main Golden Goblet award.
“I feel that the young people everywhere today relate to that feeling of having to perform, having to be the best in everything they do, and the fears that brings,” says Deruddere. “I don’t want to spoil the ending, but it is about liberation from that and how to simply be yourself.”
Deruddere first caught international attention back in 2000 when he picked up an Oscar nomination for Everybody’s Famous!, a film that tore chunks out of the contemporary music scene and its (apparently) manipulated star system.
With The Chapel, Deruddere is back into the world of music but there’s a far different milieu being explored. The film sets its story around a music competition where the entrants are locked away in a house together, to practice and then eventually to perform.
It’s based on an actual event held for classical musicians in Belgium – the Queen Elisabeth Competition – which sets its entrants up in a house (known as The Chapel) where they train. From that foundation, Deruddere says he explored the psychological – and physical – stresses that might bring if the situation was pushed to its outermost extremes.
“They isolate these people from the outside world, no cell phone allowed and no computers around. Nothing,” explains Deruddere. “Then they have seven days to study before performing so, to me, that sounds like an ideal place to set a psychological drama slash thriller. It’s just a suspenseful situation, and then you can surround it by the music.”
Deruddere admits to “opening the champagne” when he heard The Chapel would be in the running for the Golden Goblet award – and it sounds a bit like the party has continued ever since.
Fresh from the screening of his new film, Deruddere says he is still buzzing by a reaction from a full house in Shanghai that seems to have caught him by surprise.
“There were just so enthusiastic about the film, and this was a situation where we were really not sure what to expect, to be honest,” says Deruddere. “I have a feeling that the young people here really connected to that side of the story – you know, to be a happy person, not somebody that’s always thinking about your career.”
Lead actress Taeke Nicolai and producer Bart Van Langendonck joined the director on stage for a Q&A following the screening of The Chapel, where Nicolai was quizzed about the actual training she had to commit to in order to convincingly play an emerging piano virtuoso.
“She studied for three months to get to language of movement on the piano right,” explains Deruddere. “There’s such a depth to her performance and audiences have really taken to this.”
While the lead character has to face the pressure of her looming performances, Deruddere’s script adds some previous traumas that are triggered by the experience to build his tension. But real-life graduates of the Queen Elisabeth Competition have been quick to stress that the film is pure fiction, including acclaimed Czech pianist Lukáš Vondráček , a winner of the competition’s 2016 edition.
“I loved my time at the Chapel,” Deruddere told the competition’s website, for an article on the film. “Above all the evenings with a glass of whiskey which we sneaked in and the camaraderie among the finalists. Artists need time away from ‘civilization’ to be alone with their thoughts and draw inspiration from silence and nature. That is one of the reasons I loved the Chapel and its peaceful environment.”
After a domestic run in Belgium back in February, The Chapel has so far been sold by Germany’s Picture Tree International to South Korea (Happy Song), Spain (Vercine) and Bulgaria (Beta Film).
Several hundred people gathered outside of Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday evening to protest the team’s annual Pride Night celebrating the city’s LGBTQ community.
Protesters say they object to the honors being given to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, an activist and charity group whose members dress as parodies of Catholic nuns. The group, founded in 1979 in San Francisco, deploys satirical religious imagery in order to “use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry, complacency and guilt that chain the human spirit,” per their mission statement.
The Sisters deny that they are anti-Catholic. “The idea of being a fake nun is also a little problematic, mostly because we do take vows of service to the LGBTQ community for nonprofit work and it is the kind of vow that you take for the rest of your life, so it is very similar to the kind of care work a nun would do,” said Sister Electra-Complex, a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, in an interview with ABC7 News.
Video of the demonstration can be seen here, via CBS. You can also see below, courtesy of LA Times reporter Andrew J. Campa.
The protest follows a month of controversy, much of it self-inflicted on the part of the Dodgers, over the event. When the plans for this year’s Pride Night were announced in May, there was very quickly an online backlash centered on the Sisters and largely organized by out-of-state politicians and groups. The Dodgers, in a move described by numerous critics as “cowardly,” folded in response to that outrage campaign and disinvited the Sisters from the event.
That in turn provoked a local backlash as celebrities, politicians and members of the larger LGBTQ community condemned the team’s decision. After several other participating groups pulled out of Pride Night in protest, on May 22 the team re-invited Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
The “Pride Night” event started at 5:30 p.m. PST in the stadium’s center Field Plaza. On July 30, the Dodgers will host a “Christian Faith and Family Day.”
As schools let out and summer approaches, families are granted more down-time to spend (obviously watching movies.) A family favorite that has always held a special place in my heart, the 2003 Cheaper by the Dozen, follows the lovably large Baker family, consisting of 12 children and parents Tom Baker (Steve Martin), a high school football coach, and Kate Baker (Bonnie Hunt), a retired journalist. When Tom is offered a college football coaching job and Kate’s parenting memoir is published, both parents are determined to fulfill their dreams while keeping their house in order and their children in check. The star-studded cast extends past the popular parental pair, including Hillary Duff, Alyson Stoner, and Ashton Kutcher. There is laughter, heartfelt moments, and outlandish pranks that may or may not involve soaking Ashton Kutcher’s underwear in raw meat… What else could you ask for?
We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us which queer characters from movies and TV shows were done wrong vs. right, and boy, did they have some opinions. Here’s what they had to say:
Note: Not all submissions are from Community users.
Note: There isn’t “one” typical portrayal of someone who identifies as LGBTQ — the spectrum is big. This post analyzes LGBTQ stereotypes vs. realistic characteristics and experiences.
When DreamWorks purchased the “Trolls” franchise in 2013, it seemed like an odd revival. The furry creatures had been lost in the 1990’s after being the toy fad of a generation.
Since then, DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures managed to turn this IP back into a multi-million dollar success story, powered by catchy songs from star-studded casts and topped with glitter, lots of it. Clips from the third film, due to be released on Nov. 17 in the U.S, were presented Thursday at France’s Annecy Animation Festival, the world’s biggest toon fest, in front of an electrified audience.
Introduced by director Walt Dohrn and producer Gina Shay (returning for their third “Trolls”film together), along with co-director Tim Heitz, the whimsical world of “Trolls Band Together” unveiled itself as a richer and brighter universe than ever, leaving fans’ eyes sparkling.
“We wanted to go even further than the previous films,” said Dohrn, “by expanding the world we created and bringing more of our influences such as ‘Yellow Submarine,’ ‘The Wall.’ And every Boys Band there is, from Backstreet Boys to N’Sync.”
This freedom is evidently allowed by the impressive success of “Trolls World Tour”, which grossed $47 million at the international box office (despite being released while COVID-19 was in full force) and another $100 million on streaming platforms in its first few weekends, shaking up the industry.
Now, as audiences can again taste the pleasure of the big screen, DreamWorks’ teams look to have tried to surpass themselves to deliver mind-blowing landscapes and awe-inspiring musical choreographies that push the boundaries of CG animation.
A world where duo Branch and Poppy (Timberlake and Kendrick), now an item, face superstar villains Velvet and Veneer to save Branch’s long-lost brother, while resurrecting legendary Trolls Band BroZone. With five original songs by Justin Timberlake and composer Theodore Shapiro, pop-loving teenagers who like Timberlake look to be in for a real treat.
“It’s a blend between ‘Fast and Furious,’ ‘West Side Story,’ and James Bond on mushrooms.” Dorhn said at Annecy to describe the upcoming feature. A balance between comedic dialogue, endearing characters and slick dance moves induced long applause and riffs of laughter with its visual comedy and catchy punchlines.
“We had the chance to raise the stakes higher with this new film. And that’s what we wanted to share with ‘Trolls’ fans around the world. More modern, more colorful settings, while keeping the Trolls spirit intact”, concluded Dorhn and Heitz.”
“Also, we added Putt Putt Trolls living a horror-like minigolf course. Because who wouldn’t want to see that?”
For Margie Cohn, president of DreamWorks Animation, “these groundbreaking designs and beautiful characters are what make this new ‘Trolls’ movie the juke-box party that you don’t want to miss.”
Screening Event “Trolls Band Together” – Margie Cohn, Tim Heitz, Gina Shay, Walt Dorn
ANNECY FESTIVAL/F. Murarotto
Miguel O’Hara was one of the first elements of the sequel teased in the original outing, and by the time he hit the screen, his look got quite the update.
The final version ended up being buffer, broader, and bigger—just all-around a more intimidating dude. His blue suit also got some additional detailing, including his long and jagged arm spikes.
Spider-Man 2099’s Alternate Suits
Marvel
Concept artist Hethe Srodawa shared some new illustrations on Twitter that showcase rejected designs for Oscar Isaac’s Miguel O’Hara in Across the Spider-Verse.
Most notably, these new glimpses show audiences the character’s alternate white and red suit.
Marvel
While 2099 is most known for his blue (or technically black) and red design, this alternate look is a more recent addition to his wardrobe in the comics.
Marvel
The artist even considered what Miguel looked like in everyday clothes, something fans never really got a chance to see.
Marvel
At one point Miguel looks to have been slimmer and not nearly as buff as he ended up being.
Marvel
An alternate version of his main suit sees the blue toned down greatly, and it’s even illustrated in a funky pose.
Marvel
In the end, the team went with a much deeper, more vivid blue and a strikingly bright red for his suit’s detailing.
Marvel
Will Miguel O’Hara Get a New Suit in Spider-Verse 3?
The white 2099 suit first made its appearance in October 2015, and many fans were quick to take to it. The outfit also appeared as an alternate outfit in Insomniac’s Spider-Man.
One would think it’s pretty likely. After all, Miles did do some significant damage to Miguel’s original suit—perhaps it’ll push the grumpy Spidey to upgrade.
Marvel also loves to sell merchandise, and introducing a fancy new 2099 suit would be an easy way to do that. In that regard, the Spider-Verse films certainly excel.
It’s also interesting to see how Miguel wasn’t always super buff but rather tall and slender. The alternate look does lean more into his confusing vampiric qualities, something that the movie chose not to bring too much attention to.
Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters worldwide, while Beyond the Spider-Verse is set to debut on March 29, 2024.
With “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” riding high to the tune of $1.3 billion in global receipts, and as Pharrell Williams lay in the wings to offer the producer a lifetime achievement award, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri made sure to direct the lion’s share of attention to “Migration” director Benjamin Renner as the pair sat before a packed auditorium at the Annecy Animation Festival on Wednesday.
Taking the stage after premiering 25 minutes of “Migration” footage, Meledandri stepped (quite adeptly) into the role of interviewer, putting Renner in the spotlight and peppering the French filmmaker with questions about inspiration and artistry. If the interest was genuine, it was also no doubt strategic, as Meledandri inferred to Variety in an interview following the presentation.
“I would love for people to hear [directly] from Benjamin about his process and his intention,” said Meledandri. “That’s a very old fashioned idea — to get the filmmaker out there. But that wasn’t necessarily a key part [of our last few releases.] The filmmaker attention came after ‘Mario,’ as opposed to before.”
Of course, “Migration” is a markedly different beast. Based on a script from Mike White, the airborne vacation comedy is the studio’s first original title since 2016, and a film whose immediate pitch is less obvious from the title than, say, “The Secret Life of Pets” (or, for that matter, the near transparent simplicity of “Sing”).
But Renner is also a known-commodity — an Oscar nominee for 2012’s “Ernest and Celestine” and an acclaimed graphic novelist whose reputation spurred buzz at Illumination well before the project was announced.
Chris Meledandri and Benjamin Renner
NBCUniversal
“Our whole studio in Paris were big fans of Benjamin’s before I was even aware of him,” says Meledandri. “And in my team, I think it was maybe even [executive producer] Brett Hoffman who initially said, you’ve got to see Benjamin’s film. So we have a collective sensibility.”
On-stage at the Annecy presentation, Meledandri touted his studio’s track record incorporating talent from outside the CG fold, calling the practice “culture defining” and boasting that more than 40 Illumination directors and co-directors have fit that bill. But none, at least since “Sing” director Garth Jennings in 2016, have brought the same name recognition – and for Jennings, that renown was born from live-action and music video work.
Which is why a slide comparing the character design of “Migration” hero Mack to Illumination stalwart Gru played on two levels. If ostensibly meant to highlight this latest project’s new creative challenges – with the Mallard’s 1049 points of manipulation besting poor Gru’s paltry 413 – it also underscored the presentation’s larger subtext, and perhaps a theme the studio will hit until the film’s December release: That “Migration” promises a rather different and more auteurist Illumination offering.
“Now, I look at every film now as an individual challenge from a standpoint of audience engagement,” said Meledandri. “The idea that there’s a template is archaic, which means that on each film, we’re going to discover a process.”
“In this case, there was a lot more interest in our filmmaker, so I’d love for us to resort to a very tried and true methodology,” he adds. “That’s one approach we haven’t done on the last few films that I think would be particularly compelling for this one — especially in Europe.”
In this horror comedy movie, the mom and son seek help to rid their new mansion of ghostly creatures. This is a star packed film with LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito, Jamie Lee Curtis, Owen Wilson, Ryan Gosling and many more. This film is released on July 28, 2023 in theaters.
With a new season of “Temptation Island” premiering last night, and having host Mark Wahlberg on last week, season 4 cast member Iris Jardiel joins me today and boy is this one a doozy. Iris got engaged to Luke during the season 4 finale, then they came on the show together in Nov. of 2022 to talk about the rough patches they’d had in their relationship, and that things were back on track. Shortly thereafter that podast though, things changed in a big way. Iris is here today to break everything down and tell you what happened, why it happened, where she’s at now, a new venture in her life, and much, much more. She was on Kaci Campbell’s podcast on Monday, so you may have already heard. If not, buckle up. I’m guessing most people won’t expect to hear what Iris has to share today. All I ask is to keep an open mind. And if her lifestyle choice doesn’t align with yours, that’s fine. Move on. No need to tell her how much you disagree. Or what you think of it. She’s happy and that’s all that matters. Thanks again to Iris for coming on and being so open and honest about a topic that’s pretty taboo in this world.
You can listen to today’s podcast on a number of platforms, but you can also tune in by clicking the player below:
(SPOILERS) I begin by giving a few thoughts on the premieres of “Temptation Island” and “The Big D” last night. Then Iris joins me (7:44) to talk about what’s happened in her life since she last came on with fiance Luke in Nov. 2022. A LOT has happened to say the least and we discuss it all. WARNING: Parts of the podcast are of a very sexual nature.
(SPOILERS) Today’s Daily Roundup covers notes on Charity’s guys, my Wednesday night 2 hr block is now set with Temptation Island and The Big D, my initial thoughts of both premieres, and the wrong impression I had about The Big D.
You can listen to that podcast on a number of platforms, but you can also tune in here:
On Friday, the filmmaker took to his Instagram Stories for an “Ask me anything” session, encouraging fans to ask him about his life, work and career achievements. Among those who responded was none other than the Book Club: The Next Chapter actress.
Coppola proceeded to post Keaton’s question for all to read: “Why on Earth did you choose me for The Godfather?!!”
The Oscar-winning actress took on the role of Kay Adams-Corleone, the wife of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone, in the 1972 film, which quickly became a cult classic.
The director responded to her question, writing, “I chose you, because although you were to play the more straight/vanilla wife, there was something more about you, deeper, funnier, and very interesting. (I was right).”
Coppola also shared the first time he witnessed Keaton in her element – during a performance of the Broadway musical Hair, which was also the actress’s first major stage role. “I was invited by Fred Astaire to accompany him to see Hair,” he added. “Which he couldn’t make ‘hide nor hair’ out of. You were in it, and I remember your beautiful singing voice.”
After The Godfather launched her into stardom, Keaton later reprised her role in 1974’s The Godfather Part IIand in 1990’s The Godfather Part III. Then in 2020, a recut version of the third film, titled The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, was released for the 30th anniversary of the original version.
During the AMA session, Coppola was also asked if he would make a fourth Godfather film. He responded, “In my mind there is one 1 film known as The Godfather (Parts I and II) and an epilogue or ‘Coda’ The Death of Michael Corleone.”
An intimate dinner-party performance, a fire-and-brimstone immersive show and a slew of dance performances are on tap for the coming Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the performing arts center announced on Friday.
The festival will be the last to be programmed under David Binder, the artistic director, who announced earlier this year that he would step down and transition to an artistic advisory role on July 2. An interim artistic director will be announced in the coming weeks.
This year’s edition of the storied festival will be scaled back, featuring seven programs — nearly half the last slate — from Oct. 19 through Jan. 13. The festival’s offerings have been steadily declining in recent years. In 2019, Next Wave featured 16 programs, down from 31 in 2017.
“We prefer to think of it as dense and not necessarily shrinking,” said Amy Cassello, BAM’s associate director of artistic programming. “I don’t think it’s any secret that arts institutions are pressed for funding.”
The program is “an incredibly intentional effort,” she said.
First on the schedule is the U.S. premiere of “Broken Chord” (Oct. 19-21), a retelling of South Africa’s first Black choir by the South African dancer and choreographer Gregory Maqoma and the composer Thuthuka Sibisi. Using atmospheric soundscapes and traditional Xhosa movement, the performance will feature a single dancer, four vocal soloists and a live local choir.
Also on the lineup is the theater maker Geoff Sobelle’s surreal interactive dinner performance, “Food” (Nov. 2-18), in which audience members gather around an colossal banquet table. The show, which debuted at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival in 2022, and which the New York Times critic Alexis Soloski called “a meditation on what and how and why we eat,” is the third in a trilogy of Sobelle’s performance works at BAM, following “The Object Lesson” in 2014 and “Home” in 2017.
The artist and filmmaker Lynette Wallworth’s “How to Live (After You Die)” (Dec. 7-9) is a personal monologue on the seduction of cults and the extreme edges of organized religion. The choreographer Trajal Harrell’s “The Köln Concert” (Nov. 2-4), a dance work inspired by Keith Jarrett’s genre-hopping piano recording of the same name, will be performed by Harrell’s Schauspielhaus Zürich Dance Ensemble. And the choreographer Rachid Ouramdane’s “Corps Extrêmes” (Oct. 27-29), an aerial dance work, contemplates the space between earth and sky, set against the backdrop of a climbing wall and a suspended high rope.
The season will conclude with Huang Ruo’s “Angel Island” (Jan. 11-13), an opera-theater work about the plight of Chinese migrants who were detained under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1883. In collaboration with the Del Sol Quartet, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and the archival filmmaker Bill Morrison, Ruo’s BAM debut will present a multimedia requiem based on poetry engraved on the detention center’s walls.
“BAM has always said that we follow the artist,” Cassello said. “The work in this festival is very much attuned to present-day issues. We don’t take for granted that people are wanting to come back to theater.”
Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson called for better execution from his offence in the game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers but that goal fell short.
The Bombers left Mosaic Stadium as winners in a lopsided 45-27 win over the Roughriders.
“It’s good to get a win in Saskatchewan. Their fans are always loud and always try to make it very difficult for you. I thought our offence did a very good job of executing in this kind of environment,” said Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea.
Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros went 22/30, throwing two touchdowns and rushing for one in the win.
The rushing touchdown was Collaros’ first since 2015.
“That was a fun one,” he said. “It’s always fun to come in here and win.”
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Back-up quarterback Dru Brown also punched in two touchdowns in the win for Winnipeg.
Kick returner Janarion Grant went 92 yards on a kick return to extend the Bombers’ lead to 30-21 deep in the third quarter.
“We’ve seen Janarion do it how many times now in the biggest moments, too. I think he stiff armed the entire unit,” said Collaros.
The Bombers now have 87 points in the first two games in the season.
“There’s things we can clean up,” said Collaros. “As a whole, I thought we did a good job execution-wise…when we get an opportunity down close to the endzone we’ve been able to get it in this year.”
The Roughriders matched the Blue Bombers early in the game, with quarterback Trevor Harris throwing for over 400 yards and three touchdowns.
Harris suffered a hip pointer late in last week’s 17-13 win over the Edmonton Elks, leaving his status for Friday’s game doubtful.
He was hurt with Saskatchewan holding its four-point lead over Edmonton and the ball at the Elks’ 24-yard line with 10 seconds to play. Harris lined up in shotgun formation and rolled out to his right before throwing a pass downfield. But he was hit hard after delivering the pass and was writhing in pain on the field. After initially struggling to get up, Harris managed to get to his feet before hobbling to the sidelines.
In Friday’s game against the Blue Bombers, Harrus threw several passes that were either incomplete or nearly intercepted but finished the night 29/44.
Roughriders wide receiver Samuel Emilus caught three touchdowns in the game to tie Saskatchewan’s single game record.
Emilus had seven passes for 100 yards and is one of three Roughriders to hit triple digits — the others being Shawn Bane Jr. and Tevin Jones.
“I feel like we had the game, but the second half they took it from us,” he said.
Despite Harris’ injury concerns, the Roughriders left him in late in to the fourth quarter, including a third down and 19 attempt where he ran for eight yards with just over two minutes left.
Winnipeg, who are now 2-0, opened their season beating visiting Hamilton 42-31, but what looked like a romp turned into a much closer game when the Tiger-Cats outscored the Bombers 14-3 in the fourth quarter.
The Bombers return to home field to host the BC Lions on Thursday.
Kourtney Kardashian, 44, is pregnant and expecting her first child with husband Travis Barker, 47. She revealed the news at a Blink-182 concert on June 16, while Travis was performing on stage, and she held up a “Travis, I’m Pregnant” sign. She further confirmed the news by sharing the video on her Instagram account, which you can see below.
As you can see in the adorable video, once Travis caught a glimpse of Kourtney’s sign, he jumped off stage, made his way towards her, and they shared a few passionate kisses. It appears as though he discovered the news just as everyone in the audience did. What a cute surprise!
Kourtney revealed in 2022 that she’d officially stopped her IVF journey after it caused her to spiral into a deep depression among other symptoms. And at the start of season 3 of The Kardashians, Kourtney said she and Travis were trying to conceive the natural way.
The last time that Kourtney was pregnant was in 2014, when she and Scott Disick welcomed their third child together, Reign. The former couple also is proud parents to their daughter Penelope (born in 2012) and son Mason (born in 2009). Though it’s been nearly a decade since Kourtney has had a pregnancy glow, she’s been the subject of pregnancy rumors for a number of years – so much so that she clapped back against some premature speculation in November 2021. After Kourtney posted a series of photos of her relaxing by a pool at sunset, one fan asked, “Not to be that girl but… is that a preg belly?” An exhausted Kourt replied, “Are we really gonna do this every time I post a photo?” In spring 2020, Kourtney also clapped back at those thinking she was sporting a pregnant belly. “This is me when I have a few extra pounds on,” she wrote, “and I actually love it.”
For Travis, this means another addition to his already packed house. The Blink-182 drummer shares two kids with ex-wife Shanna Moakler: Landon Barker (born 2003) and Alabama Barker (born 2005). Travis is also the dedicated stepfather to Atiana De La Hoya, the daughter Shanna shares with Oscar De La Hoya.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock)
Kourtney’s pregnancy comes one year after the Poosh founder married Travis in front of their friends and family in Italy. The May 2022 wedding was the third time the couple exchanged vows, as they first said “I do” during a Las Vegas ceremony in April. But because they didn’t have a marriage license at the time, they made their union legal at a courthouse in Santa Barbara, California just a few weeks later.
Now, they’re embarking on a new chapter together and we couldn’t be more thrilled for them!
Lip reading is hardly an exact science. Jeremy Freeman, 49, who has been called upon as an expert lip reader in cases involving sexual assault, insurance fraud and other serious matters, described it as a skill that can be honed with considerable practice. For Mr. Freeman, who was born deaf, the practice has “been ingrained in me since I was brought up,” he said.
He said he still relies on other cues, like body language and social context, to determine what is being said. “There is guessing involved,” said Mr. Freeman, who works as a writer near London. “I would never say I can lip read 100 percent accurately.” Certain people, like the Scottish comedian and actor Billy Connolly, confound him. “I find him impossible to lip read,” Mr. Freeman said.
Aside from accuracy, there is the question of ethics. Is lip reading an invasion of privacy?
Mr. Freeman said he would never lip read someone in their home. But if it’s a celebrity at a live event, like the coronation of King Charles III, which he lip read for a media outlet, he views it as “part of the commentary.” (He added that he heard from a deaf person afterward who thought that it was an invasion of privacy.)
Ms. Dellinger said she also has limits. In a video she posted on a conversation between Olivia Rodrigo and Iris Apatow in the front row of a Los Angeles Lakers game, Ms. Dellinger left out the name of the person Ms. Rodrigo appeared to say she was dating.
Krystin Kalvoy, 25, another popular lip reader on TikTok, said she will not interpret videos in which she believes something deeply personal is being said. She recently lip read footage of royal family members during the coronation, after having decided against trying to narrate what the Afflecks were saying at the Grammys, which some TikTok users had asked her to do.
“The last thing I would want is to leak private moments,” said Ms. Kalvoy, who is hearing-impaired. ‘We want to know what’s going on? Is Ben drinking again?’ You don’t want to be the fuel to that fire.”
Miramax Presents The Film That Lit My Fuse is a Deadline video series that aims to provide an antidote to headlines about industry uncertainty by swinging the conversation back to the creative ambitions, formative influences and inspirations of some of today’s great screen artists.
Every installment asks the same five questions. This week’s subject is Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti, who today open their new film, the Ezra Miller starrer The Flash for Warner Bros and DC.
The Muschietti duo — he directs, and they write and produce — came out of Argentina and made their breakthrough with the haunting 2008 short Mama. They made the film with Luther creator Neil Cross, and it was embraced by Guillermo del Toro, who helped them turn it into a 2013 feature starring Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Their growth from there has been meteoric. Their adaptation of the Stephen King novel It became the highest-grossing horror films ever with more than $700 million in global grosses. They followed with the conclusion to that tale, It Chapter Two, before signing on for The Flash. They just set themselves to make Batman: Brave and the Bold, and they’ve made a first look deal at Warner Bros. Here, they explain the formative influences that got them onto the A-list.
There’s a twist in the Malaysian director Adrian Teh’s “The Assistant” that’s so outlandish you can’t help but love the sheer force of its swing. The timid Zafik (Iedil Dzuhrie Alaudin) has recently been released from prison. Ten years prior, a mystery man planted cocaine in his car. Two years after that, the same person, presumably, killed his wife and son. Now, he wants answers. For help, he first turns to his best friend, Dato Sam Lee (Henley Hii), a wealthy frontman for a local gangster. Then he links up with his wife’s cousin, Feroz (Hairul Azreen), who also wants to find the culprit behind the murders.
Together, Zafik and Feroz investigate the cold case, but the latter runs by a different set of rules: Feroz, played with zeal by Azreen, is a sociopath who doesn’t hesitate to kill. In fact, he giggles whenever he delivers a death blow. The balance between Zafik and Feroz represents a vicious psychological struggle of the grief felt by the two men. The ensuing twist seemingly arises from nowhere, blurring the line between intent and spontaneity for a wellspring of kinetic, jagged violence that slyly invites the possibility of more stories to come.
Agent Mark Patson (Louis Mandylor), renowned for his ability to take down large syndicates, is loved and revered by everyone except his daughter, Alisha (Samm Wiechec). Ever since Mark’s job led to the death of Alisha’s mother, a retribution killing, he and Alicia have been estranged. Mark wants to make amends; he takes an early retirement to spend more time with her. She agrees to live with him in Tijuana so she might meet Stephen, a peculiar online flame living in Mexico.
The ghosts from Mark’s past, however, threaten to upend his life. Alisha is being pursued by a nameless man, possibly the killer of her mother.
The writer/director Yadhu Krishnan’s film isn’t out to reinvent the wheel. Workmanlike fistfights and riveting choreography are the hallmarks to this sturdy, rough-around-the-edges B-movie whose easy pleasures arise from its assuredness in the genre.
In its basic conceit, the director Peter Thorwarth’s “Blood & Gold” bears similarities to the Jalmari Helander combat flick “Sisu.” Both are set in the waning days of World War II, as Nazis desperate for a postwar parachute are pursuing a trove of gold. Both mine the landscape of exploitation and spaghetti westerns to imbue their narrative with unrepentant gore. The protagonist of “Blood & Gold,” Heinrich (Robert Maaser), also has a tragic back story: His wife died during a bombing; his young daughter is now living with foster parents.
Unlike the hero in “Sisu,” Heinrich is not alone. He deserts the German army as a conscientious objector, leading to his capture and hanging. A local woman, Elsa (Marie Hacke), cuts down and nurses the moribund Heinrich. Along with Elsa’s brother, Paule (Simon Rupp), the pair flee from the Nazis. Though lean and tall, Heinrich isn’t a white knight savior. Elsa is just as capable with a rifle. The climactic gunfight, taking place in a church, is a showcase of their shared prowess, which blends together romance and death for a dark victory.
A crushing void pervades the life of Nina Nowak (Agnieszka Grochowska), a former special forces soldier presumed dead. After the slaying of her husband, Nina gave up their son, Maks (Adrian Delikta), to a foster family for safe keeping. Now an alcoholic, she spends her days pining for her kid’s love: She watches through binoculars from her car as Maks leads a happy life with his foster parents. When a local drug kingpin, Woltomierz (Szymon Wróblewski), kidnaps Maks, Nina must rush out of hiding to save him.
In this film from the Polish director Mateusz Rakowicz, Grochowska’s performance often recalls the bleak vacancy of Nicole Kidman in Karyn Kusama’s “Destroyer.” Like Kidman, Grochowska is weary and stoic, and intensely savage as she tears through Woltomierz’s army of mob goons in the hopes of one day being acknowledged by her child’s love. The best set piece involves Nina attacking a band of hired guns through an abandoned loft as the lighting switches to infrared hues, denoting not only Nina’s bloodlust, but also, her gashed open soul.
A trio of revenge plots engulfs Roman Perfilyev’s genre-bending Ukrainian samurai spaghetti western. The first arises from Taras (Roman Lutskyi), a feudal slave whose wife, Maria (Kateryna Slyusar), is kidnapped into sex trafficking. The second stems from a Jewish man (Andriy Borys) whose younger brother was murdered by a Cossack revolutionary. But it’s the plight of Akayo (Sergey Strelnikov), a warrior born in Japan to a Ukrainian mother that instigates the ensuing bloodshed. The sword belonging to his slain master is in the wrongful possession of a feudal lord, and Akayo wants it back.
Unlike most samurai films, the swordplay here isn’t based in air-defying gracefulness. The action moves with a surprising ruggedness. This is a pro-workers film about a rural class tied not just to the terrain but to the symbolism of the land itself. Their attachment to the countryside is reflected in the grounded fights, demonstrating a resiliency that speaks to those who are fighting a ceaseless war right now.
Adipurush was released on Friday. Ramanand Sagar’s son reacted to the film’s dialogues.
Adipurush released on Friday worldwide. While the Prabhas-led film is getting mixed reviews from fans, Ramanand Sagar’s son Prem Sagar is not impressed.
TV Show Ramayan creator Ramanand Sagar’s son Prem Sagar criticised Adipurush in a new interview. The filmmaker, who confessed hasn’t seen the movie yet, was informed about the dialogues in the movie that a section of social media has been criticising. Addressing these dialogues, Prem dissed Om Raut for taking more than needed creative liberty to tell a story like Ramayan.
“Om Raut has tried to create Marvels through Adipurush. Papaji (Ramanand Sagar) also used creative freedom while making Ramayan (for the small screen) but he understood Lord Shri Ram. He made minor changes after reading many texts but never tried to tamper with the facts,” Prem told Hindustan.com.
When he was informed that the audience wanted to make the film keeping the youth in mind, Prem replied, “If you have made today’s Ramayan, then show it in Breach Cnady and Colaba (areas in South Mumbai). Don’t show it worldwide, don’t hurt people’s sentiments.
Pointing out that various people have written versions of Ramayan, Prem said that no one changed the context. “Only the colour or language had changed. Here all the facts have changed,” he claimed. For the unversed, Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan aired on the small screen every Sunday between 1987 and 1988. The show is still considered as one of the best adaptations of Ramayan and is often revisited by fans. When the first lockdown was announced, the show was re-released for the small screen.
Meanwhile, despite the mixed reviews, Adipurush is eyeing a massive opening. Trade expert Ramesh Bala revealed that Adipurush is tracking a day 1 box office collection of Rs 40 crore. “#Adipurush Hindi early estimates for Day 1 is a huge ₹ 40 Crs Nett.. All-India,” he tweeted. If the film does end up collecting Rs 40 crore on its opening day, it would beat Brahmastra which opened at Rs 36 crore in India. Meanwhile, a Boxofficeindia.com report claimed Adipurush could be close to Rs 150 crore worldwide.
Directed by Om Raut, Adipurush stars Prabhas as Raghav while Kriti Sanon plays the role of Janaki. The film also stars Saif Ali Khan as Raavan.
Dishya Sharma, Chief Sub Editor, is part of the entertainment team at News18. She eats, sleeps, and drinks entertainment. While Indian films have fuel…Read More
Legendary comic book artist John Romita Sr., who co-created Marvel characters Wolverine, the Punisher, and Mary Jane Watson, died on Tuesday. He was 93.
Romita Sr,’s death was confirmed by son, comics artist John Romita Jr., in a post on Twitter.
Photo: Variety
“I say this with a heavy heart,” Romita Jr. wrote. “My father passed away peacefully in his sleep. He is a legend in the art world and it would be my honor to follow in his footsteps. Please keep your thoughts and condolences here out of respect for my family. He was the greatest man I ever met.”
A Storied Career
Romita Sr. was born in Brooklyn on January 24, 1930. While the comic book artist is best remembered for his work with Marvel, he also did time at DC Comics early in his career.
Photo: Also Marvel. A panel by John Romita Sr.
Romita Sr. began his career at Timely Comics in the 1940s, the studio would eventually become Marvel. In the 50s and 60s however, the famed comic book artist worked at DC.
In 1966, he took over for Steve Ditko on “The Amazing Spider-Man” series, where he worked alongside Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee.
Stan Lee and John Romita Sr.
While working on “Spider-Man”, Romita Sr. introduced Peter Parker’s love interest, Mary Jane Watson.
Additionally, Romita Sr. was responsible for the creation of other enduring “Spider-Man” characters including villains Kingpin, Vulture, Hammerhead, Shocker, the Hobgoblin.
A Collection of John Romita covers
During his “Spider-Man” run, Romita Sr. also worked on the “The Night Gwen Stacy Died”, which is considered to be perhaps the high water mark for the series.
A collection of John Romita Sr. panels. Photo: Also Marvel
Following his the news of his death, Marvel released a statement saying in part, “The Marvel family has lost one of its legends, and we mourn the loss of a creative giant. Our hearts are with his family and loved ones as we remember his legacy.”
Photo: Spiderman Animated WIkia
Romita Sr. was inducted into the Eisner Awards Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Inkwell Awards Hall of Fame in 2020. He is survived by his wife, Virginia, and sons Romita Jr. and Victor.
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Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for The FlashThe Flashdebuts Barry Allen’s mother, but questions remain about how she died in the DC movie. In The Flash, Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) decides to travel into the past to save the life of his mother Nora Allen (Maribel Verdú), but his altruistic mission instead brings devastating consequences for his universe. With the unexpected return of General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his Kryptonian army, it is up to Barry to save the world and undo the calamity he has caused.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
The Flash is a huge multiversal event for DC on film, with Miller portraying two versions of Barry Allen and Michael Keaton’s Batman also along for the ride. At the center of The Flash is Barry’s determination to save his mother from her death in the past. Here is what The Flash revealed about how Barry lost his mother as a child.
Everything The Flash Movie Revealed About How Barry’s Mom Dies
Through flashbacks and time travel, The Flash reveals how Barry Allen’s mother died when he was a child. While Barry was upstairs and his father Henry Allen (Ron Livingston) was at the grocery store getting a can of tomatoes, Nora is attacked in the kitchen of their house and stabbed with a knife. Returning home and finding Nora with the killer nowhere to be found, Henry tells Barry to call 911. Obviously, it’s a hugely traumatic event for the young Barry to witness, especially after Henry is wrongly convicted for Nora’s murder.
The Flash shows Barry visiting the house where he grew up as an adult, vividly experiencing the flashback as young Barry runs outside his house to call for help. It speaks to how much emphasis The Flash places on Nora Allen’s murder as the event that shattered Barry Allen’s world. As such, it makes sense that Flash decides to explore his ability to time travel and alter the past shortly afterward.
How Barry Allen’s Mom Dies In The Comics
Eobard Thawne a.k.a. the Reverse-Flash is canonically the killer of Nora Allen in the comics. In the original Flashpoint storyline from DC Comics, Barry’s decision to travel back in time to save Nora creates an alternate timeline in which Atlantis and Themyscira are at war, Thomas Wayne became Batman instead of Bruce, and numerous other apocalyptic changes. Barry’s changes to the timeline also make Thawne into a nigh-invincible Speedster whose mastery of the Speed Force exceeds Barry’s own.
The Flash movie includes antagonists like alternate versions of General Zod and Faora. There’s also a dark version of Barry known as Dark Flash, Barry’s younger self who gains powers yet refuses to reconcile the fact that saving Nora dooms the world. Trying multiple times over, this Flash grows old and corrupted in his continued attempts to save the world so that Nora can live, but it simply can’t be done. However, the Reverse-Flash does not appear in the movie due to these new circumstances compared to the original Flashpoint storyline.
In the comics, the murder of Nora Allen leads to Henry Allen being wrongfully imprisoned for her murder. This became a cornerstone of the story of The Flash TV series starring Grant Gustin in the Arrowverse. It also carried over into Zack Snyder’s Justice League, with Henry Allen (played by Billy Crudup in the film) in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing Nora.
Despite his father’s pleas that he move on with his life, Barry Allen spends his time trying to help his father from the outside. He pursues a criminal justice degree in the hopes of exonerating him, and he lands a job at a Central City crime lab. Obviously, Henry’s fate gives Barry even more motivation to travel back in time, saving his mother’s life and preventing his father’s imprisonment at the same time.
How Barry Allen Saves His Father In The Flash Movie Explained
Although Barry is unable to save his mom without dooming the universe, he does manage to save his dad from his wrongful imprisonment. Coming to terms that his mother must inevitably die, Barry removes the can of tomatoes he’d placed in her cart to ensure his dad wouldn’t leave the house during the murder. While this would have restored the original timeline, Barry does make one last change by placing the tomato cans on the top shelf so that the store’s security cameras pick up his father’s face.
In the present, the altered camera footage supports Henry’s alibi during his appeal, leading to his release from prison. However, it’s worth noting that Barry’s smaller action still creates an alternate timeline with new changes beyond Henry’s release, such as George Clooney becoming Batman as opposed to Keaton or Affleck. As such, it will be interesting to see if this new timeline is indeed the soft reboot for the DCU as envisioned by new DC heads James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Interestingly enough, there are still specifics behind Nora’s death that are still unknown such as the identity of her actual murderer. This might have been left vague intentionally, leaving the door open for a potential sequel where the Reverse-Flash could be revealed as the true killer (just like in the Flashpoint comic). Either way, the love Barry Allen had for his motherand the decision he makes to let her go in The Flash provides a central story that is as tragic as it is heartfelt.
The Flash has faced scrutiny for over a year due to a variety of legal incidents involving star Ezra Miller. The actor was arrested twice in Hawaii on harassment and assault charges, pled guilty to trespassing after being charged with burglary, and has been accused of grooming a minor, among other incidents. The minor in question, now an adult, disputes the grooming allegation. In August 2022, Miller announced they were seeking treatment for “complex mental health issues.” Later, in January, The Flash studio Warner Bros. announced that they were standing behind the actor. You can read more about the issues surrounding Miller here.
DC’s attempt to copy Marvel’s box office domination with a shared universe of its own has been off the rails for much longer than it was on them–if indeed it ever truly was on them–and The Flash has long been speculated as a way to soft-reboot the overall franchise using time travel. And even after seeing the movie you might be tempted to think that’s what happened here.
But you’d be incorrect. Probably.
Warning: This article contains all the biggest spoilers from The Flash.
The basic rundown of The Flash goes like this: After heroically rescuing a dozen babies that had fallen out of a hospital window, Barry Allen levels up and can now run so fast that he goes back in time. So he runs back to his own childhood and prevents his mom from dying, and then tries to return to the present. But he can’t quite seem to get there–and then a dark figure knocks him out of the Speed Force and back into reality.
He’s in the past, around the time of the events of Man of Steel. General Zod shows up looking for a missing Kryptonian–Kara, aka Supergirl, in this universe–and otherwise there aren’t any superheroes who could have any chance of standing up to Zod and his minions. No Wonder Woman, no Aquaman, no Cyborg. And no Flash, since this younger Barry was going to go on a date with Iris West instead of being in the place where he gets his powers. But Old Barry fixes that.
So in the battle against Zod and the other Kryptonians, we have two Flashes (one of whom is brand new), a Supergirl who’s been in Russian prison for a long time, and a Batman who is decades older than the one Barry used to know.
The good guys don’t win this one. Zod kills Supergirl, Batman crashes the Batwing and blows up, and Younger Barry decides to try out time traveling. But nothing he does works. Supergirl always dies, and Zod always kills everyone on Earth. Younger Barry tries for a very long time, though–long enough that all of reality in every universe is starting to break down, as we see demonstrated by goofy CGI orbs, full of past Batmen and Superpeople, crashing into each other in the Speed Force.
Our main Barry pleads with Other Barry to stop, but he won’t listen. Eventually, however, another version of that Alt-Barry, from earlier in his endless cycle of failing to stop Zod, pops into the Speed Force, hears those pleas, and takes out his older self. This kills all versions of Barry from this non-Justice League universe, and allows Zod to extinguish the entire human race in that universe. And with no one left to try to save, Barry is free to try to return to his old timeline.
It initially seems like maybe he succeeded, but the cracks show pretty quickly: His dad, in prison for allegedly killing Barry’s mom, wins his appeal based on evidence that didn’t exist in the old timeline. And then when Barry tries to have a chat with his old pal Bruce Wayne, he discovers he definitely still isn’t home. Because in this universe, George Clooney is Batman.
Warner Bros. Pictures
The post-credits scene gives us one additional major nugget of information: Aquaman exists here, and he’s exactly the same as the Aquaman we already knew.
This is a really open-ended story, and so it’s not possible to say with any certainty what all this means right now. But it seems pretty clear what it doesn’t mean: that we’ve landed in the permanent new home of the DC movieverse. While it’s conceivable that Clooney, who played the part in Batman & Robin, would don the cape again for a role the size of the ones Keaton and Affleck had in The Flash, there’s almost no chance he’s actually this franchise’s Batman of the future. While plans can change, DC co-boss James Gunn said a couple months back that they want somebody for their next Batman who hasn’t played the part before, and Clooney is definitely not that.
On the other hand, Clooney would be a pretty good name to rebuild the franchise around. And while he’s certainly mocked Batman & Robin–which is, hands down, the worst Batman movie, plenty of times over the past three decades–that doesn’t preclude him from trying it again with an entirely different set of creatives.
Realistically, though, if Clooney were back as the new Batman to replace Ben Affleck in the DC movieverse, we would probably know about it from real-world news sources.
So what’s the deal here? For now: nothing at all. The Flash does not reflect any kind of change in the status quo of the DC franchise beyond the introduction of the multiverse. That’s not a small thing, but it doesn’t actually, you know, change the state of reality beyond this film. Ben Affleck’s Batman wasn’t written out of existence, for example–the universe Barry came from is still there, without a Flash.
So what we actually end up with the Clooney bit, really, is a sequel tease that gives The Flash the air of a reboot of Sliders, with Barry having to hop from dimension to dimension in hopes that his next jump takes him back home. It’s a great idea for a movie, frankly, and one that could have big ramifications for the future of the DC Extended Universe.
That’s kind of the punchline with The Flash: It doesn’t on its own change anything about the greater DC franchise beyond providing a framework that will allow future movies to dramatically change the status quo if the studio wants them to. It’s not like Marvel’s Loki, where the introduction of the multiverse was itself an inciting incident for the greater story of Kang the Conqueror. The Flash, by contrast, is merely setting things up so that the new-look DC Studios can start whatever new big plot it wants later on. It opens the doors to many potential new paths, but it’s waiting for somebody else to decide which one we’re going to take.
In the meantime, they don’t want you to sweat all this stuff too much, which is what the Aquaman cameo in the post-credits scene is about. In the scene, Barry tells Arthur about how even though he’s met all these different Batmen, every Aquaman is exactly the same. Just so you know that when Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom comes out later this year, you don’t need to worry about which universe it’s taking place in–it’s the same either way!
Not sweating all this is probably the best idea for all of us, since it’s too early for new DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran to have gotten their overall plans underway in full in a way that we can see–every DC movie coming out this year was in production before those two took over. So we’ll have a while to wait before we get any idea of what’s really going on in the DC Universe. Possibly until we see the rumored Batman movie that will reportedly be under the care of The Flash director Andy Muschietti.
The comic book story on which that film will be based, The Brave and the Bold, introduces Bruce Wayne’s son, Damian, as Robin and heir to the role of Batman. If Clooney is going to stick around as Bruce beyond this cameo, this is a plausible one-movie story for him that could leave us with Damian Wayne as DC’s main franchise Batman. And in that sense, this Batman film could serve as a direct sequel to The Flash, and it would also be the franchise reset that we thought The Flash was going to be.
But there are too many pieces in motion, and we don’t know enough about any of them yet.
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WWDC 2023 dropped more than one bombshell. Not only did creatives get the M2 Ultra, but it also came with a shiny new Mac Pro. There was even a new 15” MacBook Air with M2.
But the biggest drop of the show had to be the Apple Vision Pro, a virtual/augmented reality headset that Apple called a spatial computer.
Thanks to Sigmund Judge of ScreenTimes, we have confirmation that the upcoming Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, a series about Godzilla and other monsters of that story universe, will be shot on Apple’s Spatial Video format. This will make it the first show to be captured for use on the VR/AR headset.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters coming to Apple Vision Pro.
Based on conversations this week with people familiar with its production, I can confirm that the upcoming @Monsterverse series has been shooting in Apple’s Spatial Video format, unveiled earlier this week during Apple’s… pic.twitter.com/xfP18rvgSz
The Apple Vision Pro is an upcoming $3,499 headset that the company hopes will revolutionize how users will interact with AR and VR tools. With a completely new operating system called VisionOS and a slew of sensors to track your eyes and fingers, the Vision Pro really is the top tier of VR/AR tech–at least on paper.
Vision Pro Credit: Apple
Dubbing the name Spatial Computing instead of virtual or augmented reality, Apple is giving the tried and true technology a new spin. Call it whatever you want, the Vision Pro is just an augmented reality headset with partial VR capabilities.
Apple has always labeled things a bit differently, either in an attempt to control the narrative or to give their version of common tech a unique and premium feel.
Talk Nerdy To Me
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters will feature Godzilla and other kaiju creatures like King Kong. According to Judge, this series has already been filmed using Apple’s Spatial Video format. Unfortunately, he didn’t elaborate on what this new format is.
This is where Apple’s developer videos come in handy. According to the page on delivering video content for spatial experiences, the new Spatial Video Format could be a multi-view version of traditional HEVC, called MV-HEVC or MultiView High-Efficiency Video Coding.
MV-HEVC splits frames between 2D and 3D contentCredit: Apple
It seems that Apple’s goal for spatial content is to have the same content be viewable as 2D and 3D from the same video file. This is done by encoding both frames of the 3D version into one frame, which is then split between the two “eyes” of the headset. When viewing this content in 2D, only one eye of frames is shown, making it seems like a 2D plane. By activating the second set of frames in the other eye of the headset, the content is then viewable in 3D.
There’s a lot more to dig into, so do give the full video a watch if you’re curious about the approach Apple has to 3D content delivery.
The Future of 3D Movies
Will Vision Pro make 3D movies a thing again? As much as the technology offers a unique way to view a movie, the death of 3D TVs pretty much tells us how the collective moviegoing audience feels about it.
Virtual and augmented reality headsets provide a more personal viewing experience that may be what 3D needs to finally succeed. However, that will only work if the headset is comfortable, and, from what we’ve been hearing, the Vision Pro is a heavy piece of kit. How comfortable it’ll be to wear for the length of a movie remains to be seen.
What do you think? Will you want to watch this upcoming series on Vision Pro? Let us know in the comments!
The 57th Karlovy Vary IFF will open with the British historical drama Firebrand, starring Alicia Vikander and Jude Law. Firebrand is directed by Karim Aïnouz from a screenplay by Henrietta Ashworth and Jessica Ashworth, based on the novel Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle.
Firebrand premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, where it was selected to compete for Palme d’Or.
Whoopi Goldberg still hasn’t received a refund for her copy of Blizzard Entertainment’s latest game, “Diablo IV,” so she’s once again asked nicely in a new clip posted Friday on her Instagram.
“I’m tired of people not doing what they say they’re going to do. I want my game. I want my money back. Please, Blizzard, I love ya’ll, this is a little out of control now,” Goldberg said in part.
For those unaware, Goldberg as it happens is a huge gamer, and so she says her favorite is Blizzard’s “Diablo” series. But when she purchased the latest game when it came out on June 6, she encountered a problem.
Previous versions of “Diablo” were playable on both Windows and Mac computers. But Microsoft is currently attempting to buy Activision Blizzard, the company formed by the merger of “Call of Duty” powerhouse Activision and “World of Warcraft” and “Diablo” maker Blizzard, in a $69 billion deal.
Now that purchase has been put on hold by a federal judge, due to FTC antitrust concerns. Nevertheless, in anticipation of the deal, “Diablo IV, which is also available for video game consoles, can only otherwise be played on PCs that run on Microsoft’s Windows operating system. But Goldberg uses Mac.
On June 9, she posted video on Instagram complaining about the situation and asking for a refund, which apparently hasn’t happened yet. So it is that a week later she posted a follow up.
“It’s still me, I’m here, I’m getting ready to do a talk, and I realized, I’m still pretty upset with Blizzard Entertainment, because I still have not heard from them. And I understand they want me to go get this Xbox, but I want my money back — if you’re not going to give me my game. What is happening with this? I’m nice about it, I feel I’m nice about it, but I think a lot of people were upset that they did not get what they were promised,” she said.
“Again, I didn’t get the email that said ‘hey, Microsoft is taking over Blizzard,’ I didn’t get that email, or I wouldn’t have bought the game,” she continued.
“Can somebody just send me a, ‘Hey, Whoop, we’re really sorry that happened to you.’ Cause I kinda feel like, maybe, you know, this is par for the course. I’m upset with UPS, they always dump my stuff in the middle of the street, they don’t even deliver it to my house, they don’t ring my bell. I’m tired of people not doing what they say they’re going to do. I want my game. I want my money back. Please, Blizzard, I love ya’ll, this is a little out of control now,” Goldberg continued.
“Cause I know Blizzard and Microsoft, you haven’t married yet. You’re talking about marrying. So somebody needs to explain what’s going on, please. I’m going to have my Haribo right now before I go and I do my talk for AmEx. I’m just saying, we could’ve done this a little bit better, Blizzard,” the clip concludes.
Now, hopefully she sees the matter resolved to her satisfaction. But Whoopi, if you’re reading this, PlayStation 5 is actually a really great console, you should get one.
EXCLUSIVE: Netflix’s first ever pilot, comedy Little Sky, has become the latest TV production impacted by the writers strike. The single-camera pilot, starring and executive produced by Samara Weaving, has been filming in New Mexico.
Production was halted on Tuesday (6/13) and Thursday (6/15) this week due to picketing affiliated with the WGA, sources tell Deadline. The pilot had been slated for location shoots both days, I hear.
According to sources, production proceed with no call sheets for crew, employing very early call times to avoid picketers and locations given to Department Heads before midnight via WhatsApp. No actors, the director or producers are believed to have crossed the picket line.
Little Sky had been scheduled to film until Tuesday 6/20. I hear Netflix today informed the cast and crew that they were happy with the material and that there was no need to finish the pilot. A rep for the streamer declined comment.
From creator Rightor Doyle who also is directing the pilot, Little Sky centers on Penelope Paul Porter (Weaving) who is determined to realize her lifelong dream of being a respected on-air news reporter (despite the fact she may be the worst reporter of all time). When she receives an anonymous tip that the Mayor of Little Sky is missing, she knows it’s her chance to finally prove herself. Arriving in the spooky, remote town of Little Sky, she senses she’s on to a big story – but little does she know she’s stumbled upon something much darker than she could have ever imagined.
Doyle executive produces Little Sky for King Lulu. His manager Dara Gordon is an executive producer for Anonymous Content. Weaving is also an executive producer.
Amazon Prime Day is almost (reportedly) upon us. Before the shopping holiday, we curated a list of the best-selling Amazon products to keep your eye on, from TikTok beloved beauty finds (like viral hairdryers), to fabulous swimsuits, and even picks that make great gifts for the particular men in your life.
Many of these top-rated goods, that are beloved by Glamour editors, are currently on sale. In the market for a weighted sleep mask that customers swear actually helps them get shut-eye? It’s here. Want to try the buttery soft Amazon leggings that have over 35,000 five-star reviews? They also made our cut. How about a personalized gift? Yep, Amazon actually has those too (perfect for present procrastinators).
Ahead, find the best-selling Amazon products, according to enthusiastic reviews and all the videos in your For You Pages.
Our Top Picks:
All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
In my experience, high school dramas can be a bit of a mixed bag. There is certainly no lack of them out there, some are corny, others are funny, and several are serious in tone. Bully High, written and directed by Bill McAdams Jr., is one of the latter, tackling a serious social topic taking place in a high school setting.
A teenage girl from Pakistan, Maryam (Aneesha Madhok), comes to live in America as an exchange student. Immediately she is met with conflict from her host family when their daughter, Nicole (Caroline Stella), gives her grief for having to give up her bed and bedroom. Maryam experiences a series of uncomfortable situations as she navigates her new school and classmates. As some time passes, Maryam is met with increasingly bigoted and hateful outbursts from those in the school.
The hate Maryam receives stems from her ethnicity, country of origin, and religion, for which she wears a headscarf. There are two main opposing figures in the school that give Maryam the most grief about her hijab; her teacher and the most popular girl in school, Scarlet (Taylor Jabara). Maryam’s headwear is the focus of her mockery. The teacher, Bob (Bill McAdams Jr.), is very harsh towards Maryam because of his association between her home country and the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. Maryam does, however, make some friends in the school who support her along the way to stand up for herself and find pride in who she is. In addition, we get a peek into the trials burdened by Nicole (Caroline Stella), who is both a Christian and lesbian.
“…Maryam is met with increasingly bigoted and hateful outbursts from those in the school.”
The cast of Bully High, including Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son, Joseph Baena as Eddie, is very good. Jabara brings a lot of weight and emotion to her role and plays a convincing opposition to Maryam. Madhok offers heart and believability in her role in an endearing way. The film is open and honest, and the cast delivers on that tone.
My main issue is the clunky and heavy-handed dialogue. When characters speak to one another, there is not much room for nuance as they completely describe what they are thinking and feeling at that moment. Racially charged insults are often hurled, mainly referencing the hijab. When characters are speaking about their racial bias towards middle easterners, particularly Bob, the dialogue is so over-the-top racist that it is not believable and, quite frankly, comical. I attended a pretty diverse high school and live in one of the most diverse cities in the United States, but I have never heard people in real life speak so openly and blatantly racist. The dialogue is so unbelievable it took me out of the seriousness of the topic.
There is certainly a narrative very much worth telling within Bully High. Racial tension has been a remerging hot topic these last handful of years. Exploring the journey of a Middle Eastern exchange student in modern America is an important story to tell. Unfortunately, I think this left a lot of room to properly explore these themes in a more nuanced and compelling way.
President Joe Biden was speaking at the National Safer Communities Summit in Connecticut, calling for tougher gun control laws when he seemingly confused the audience by closing his speech with the phrase “God Save the Queen”.
Videos of the president’s unusual sign off quickly started circulating online, with social media users questioning what he meant.
The White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, Olivia Dalton, later responded to reporters by saying the president was “commenting to someone in the crowd”.
While Conor McGregor is a champion fighter, he has faced a series of ups and downs inside — and outside — the Octagon.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star began his impressive mixed martial career in 2008 and was signed to the professional league in 2013. Throughout his reign in the UFC, McGregor has collected a series of accolades including the UFC Featherweight Championship, UFC Lightweight Championship, Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night and more.
Three years after his debut, McGregor lost his first match against challenger Nate Diaz in March 2016. One month after the loss, McGregor announced he had decided to retire from fighting.
“I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese,” he wrote via Twitter in April 2016. “Catch ya’s later.”
However, his retirement didn’t last long. Four months later, McGregor revealed he was returning to the sport to take on Diaz in a rematch. He defeated his rival in August 2016. McGregor continued to make waves and decided the following year he wanted to challenge boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. to a match. Their August 2017 showdown was billed as “the biggest fight in combat sports history.” The fighters sparred for ten rounds before Mayweather Jr. was declared the victor.
McGregor decided to retire for a second time in March 2019 but reversed the decision the following year to participate in a match against Donald Cerrone. Following his win against Cerrone, McGregor announced in June 2020 he would retire for a third time. Two months later, McGregor proposed to his long-time girlfriend Dee Delvin after 12 years of dating. (The couple share three children: sons Conor Jr., and Rian, and daughter Croia Mairead.)
“This is totally false. [There was] no photo request,” the spokesperson told Us at the time, noting that Kelly “attended Conor’s last fight” and that McGregor “appreciates all his fans.”
Two years after the drama with Kelly, McGregor found himself in hot water again. In June 2023, he was accused of raping a woman in Miami while attending Game 4 of the NBA Finals. In demand letters obtained by Us at the time, the woman’s attorney, Ariel Mitchell, alleged that the MMA fighter “violently” sexually assaulted her in a men’s bathroom. A rep for McGregor released a statement to TMZ refuting the allegations. At the time of the accusations, McGregor and his fiancée announced they were expecting their fourth child.
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Following promises of renewed commitment to its augmented reality headset, Microsoft has finally delivered a Windows 11 variant to Hololens in a bid to reaffirmits dedication to the platform.
In the week after Apple’s announcement of its own headset – the Vision Pro – Microsoft announced the general availability of Windows Holographic version 23H1, itself a variant of the increasingly popular Windows 11 operating system.
With the upgrade, Microsoft promises to have listened to customers, in turn boosting reliability and predictability, while also making it easier for companies to administer and manage fleets of Hololens devices.
Hololens gets a major upgrade
Months have passed since complaints first aired about the Hololens, relating not only to the buggy and poor-performing operating system, but also the ergonomics and design of the headset itself. While a new device is a long way off yet, the upgrade to Windows 11 provides at least some reassurance that the company remains committed to AR.
Hololens is primarily aimed at businesses, thus enterprise customers are catered for the most. The upgrades include a range of tweaks to the way apps are updated, and how the device is reset.
Microsoft Edge WebView2 control has also become available in public preview format, which allows businesses to embed web technologies like HTML and CSS into their native apps.
The company has also added a feature to automatically delete users who accessed the device least recently to help companies manage the 64-user limit more smoothly. The announcement details: “Removing the inactive accounts speeds up the sign-in process and improves privacy and security by reducing retention of unused data.”
Microsoft employee and announcement author, Lola Bryan, said: “With this new upgrade, we reinforce our commitment to the platform by upgrading to Windows 11. By making this investment, we have optimized our engineering infrastructure and increased engineering velocity.”
Upgrades to 23H1 can be performed from Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, and admins can also manage fleets from Windows Update for Business (WUfB) and MDM policy. Devices should be running 21H1 at minimum in order to receive the upgrade, and Bryan also stressed that the upgrade is not mandatory, thus admins can disable the option to upgrade until they are ready to welcome the Windows 11-powered OS.
Variety TV editors Emily Longeretta and Michael Schneider break down the Emmys’ biggest comedy performances — from both lead and supporting categories — in the latest episode of Variety‘s Awards Circuit, presented by Showtime.
From prolific film actor Harrison Ford to veteran comedians Martin Short and Steve Martin, as well as buzzy TV stars like Quinta Brunson and Jenna Ortega, Schneider and Longeretta discuss how this year has a “laundry list” of contenders.
Following the three wins from “Abbott Elementary” at the 75th Emmy awards, Schneider and Longeretta speculate that former winner Sheryl Lee Ralph and former nominees Quinta Brunson, Janelle James, Tyler James Williams, as well as Lisa Ann Walter, could be up for nominations in the four categories.
While “Abbott Elementary” could occupy five nominations, “Barry,” “The Bear” and “Only Murders in the Building,” are predicted to possibly garner three nominations total — with supporting actor likely going to both “Barry’s” Anthony Carrigan and previous winner Henry Winkler, as well as lead to Bill Hader.
Hader could receive his fourth nomination, and be in contention with Martin and Short. But as Longeretta notes, the two “could cancel each other out” within that category, while Selena Gomez may receive her first nomination as lead actress for the series. However, Schneider hopes that “Barry” star Sarah Goldberg could finally receive a nomination for her supporting role.
Following Jeremy Allen White’s wins at both the Golden Globes and SAG Awards for his leading work on “The Bear,” Schneider and Longeretta believe he has a good chance to score a nomination, as well as his costars Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebiri for supporting actor and actress.
With “Only Murders” and “Barry” possibly taking home three nominations each, Schneider and Longeretta anticipate that “Shrinking,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Masiel,” and “Ted Lasso” will all receive at least two nominations.
Ford could become a contender for supporting actor, while his costar Jason Segel could receive a nomination for lead. While Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Bornstein may return with their fifth nominations for “The Marvelous Mrs. Masiel,” Jason Sudeikis and Brett Goldstein could also return for their third consecutive nominations for “Ted Lasso.”
“Ted Lasso’s” Phil Dunster could also join Goldstein in the supporting category and Schneider hopes both Juno Temple and Hannah Waddingham also receive recognition for their supporting roles.
In addition to the nominations for the new and returning shows, the editors also discuss the possibility of Jenna Ortega and Natasha Lyonne joining the lead actress category.
Variety‘s Awards Circuit is presented by Showtime.
