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☆ Mohammad Rasoulof: Iran sentences renowned director to 8 years in prison and flogging, lawyer says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Hande Atay Alam | Artemis Moshtaghian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A court in Iran has sentenced acclaimed movie director Mohammad Rasoulof to eight years in prison and flogging for national security crimes, his lawyer said on Wednesday. The writer-director’s latest work, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is due to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in France next week. According to Paknia, some also alleged they were asked by officials to tell Rasoulof to withdraw the film from the festival. “Once again, the judiciary’s verdict against Mohammad Rasoulof proved that the law is only a playground for stubbornness and revenge in the legal system contaminated by government jurisprudence,” it said. “Independent and freedom-loving cinematographers condemn the invalid judgment of the judiciary against Mohammad Rasoulof and stand by him and all the artists who make fun of government censorship.”

Persons: CNN —, Mohammad Rasoulof, Babak Paknia, Paknia, Rasoulof, ”, HRW, “ Organizations: CNN, Cannes, Cannes Film, Human Rights Watch, Association Locations: Iran, France, Cannes

☆ One Black Conservative Continues to Stand Apart - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Pamela Paul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Glenn Loury thought maybe the world — maybe he — had been wrong about Derek Chauvin, the police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd in 2020. Loury had watched a documentary, “The Fall of Minneapolis,” that had circulated largely on right-wing social media, arguing that Chauvin had been wrongly convicted, and found himself persuaded. Floyd’s death had ignited protests nationwide and spurred a passionate national debate about racism that often left Loury, a prominent Black conservative, at odds with many other Black intellectuals and with much of the American left. Commenters on his newsletter and social media also took issue. Then Radley Balko, an independent journalist, published a lengthy and meticulous critique of the film, calling it “all nonsense.”

Persons: Glenn Loury, —, Derek Chauvin, George Floyd, Loury, Chauvin, Floyd, Liz Collin, JC Chaix, Glenn, Radley Balko Organizations: YouTube Locations: Minneapolis, ”

☆ Did menswear win the 2024 Met Gala? The best dressed men on the red carpet
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Nods to the event’s dress code, JG Ballard’s 1962 short story “The Garden of Time,” came in all forms. Wisdom Kaye's Robert Wun suit included a corsage, burnt at the edges like the lapels of his overcoat and hat. Coleman Domingo similarly finished off his billowing Willy Chavarria suit with black-rimmed eyes and a drooping bunch of wistful white lilies. Barry Keoghan's Burberry suit came with a satin necktie, top hat and three watches. Mike Coppola/MG24/Getty Images for The Met Museum/VogueAs always, a few stars miss — or dodge — the theme entirely, and menswear this year was no exception.

Persons: Gigi Hadid, Jordan Roth, Emily Ratajkowski, ”, Lewis Hamilton, Nicholas Galitzine, Jeremy Strong, Jonathan Bailey, Vogue, Loewe, Jonathan Bailey's peony bowtie, Aliah Anderson, “, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor, —, O’Connor, clogs, Dan Levy’s, Jamie Dornan’s, Robert Wun, John Shearer, Seán McGirr, Alexander McQueen, Usher, Wisdom Kaye, Coleman Domingo, Willy Chavarria, florals, Barry Keoghan's Burberry, Taylor Hill, Jeff Goldblum, Count Axel, Gilbert Flores, Barry, Andrew Vottero, Prada, ” Goldblum, Emma Chamberlain, Hannah Bagshawe, Eddie Redmayne, Steve O Smith, Mike Coppola, Taika Waititi, Oscar Organizations: CNN, Burberry, Variety, Getty, Vogue, The Met Museum

☆ The Met Gala theme is ‘The Garden of Time:’ Why culture is obsessed with JG Ballard
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In February, the Met revealed Ballard’s 1962 short story “The Garden of Time” as the forthcoming red carpet theme. Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho/Getty ImagesThere is little glitz and glamor in Ballard’s world — or if there is, it doesn’t last for long. David Cronenberg's adaptation of JG Ballard's "Crash" debuted at Cannes Film Festival in 1996. In 2021, American designer Thom Browne’s Spring-Summer catwalk at New York Fashion Week also imagined life behind Count Axel’s garden wall. And now with the Met Gala theme, the beautiful flower that dies as soon as it’s plucked, it connects back to fashion being ephemeral.

Persons: Manus, Andrew Bolton, JG Ballard, Count Axel, Axel, Count, Countess, Thom Browne, Victor Virgile, —, you’ve, Steven Spielberg’s, David Cronenberg’s, ”, it’s, Ballard, David Cronenberg's, Ronald Siemoneit, Thom Browne’s, Browne, Alon Livné, Andrew Groves, Estrella de Mar, ” Groves, McQueen, Jeremy Scott, Marie, Christiane Marek, Jeremy Scott's, Jeremy Scott “, ” Scott, Scott, “, Nigel Coates, Caffè, Coates, Caffè Bongo, brandished Coates, Caffe, Edward Valentine, Charli XCX, Madonna’s, Ian Curtis, Stanley Donwood, Groves Organizations: CNN, York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, West, Technology, Costume Institute, Bolton, New York, Sun, Cannes Film, Estrella de, Paris Fashion, Division, Preachers, Fourth Estate Locations: China, British, France, American, Israeli, London, Estrella, Tokyo, “

☆ How ‘The Idea of You’ nailed age-gap dressing
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Films such as “What Price Hollywood” and “A Star is Born” first dabbled in the idea of famous and non-famous relations almost 100 years ago. Now, director Michael Showalter breathes new life into the trope with “The Idea of You,” out on Amazon Prime May 2. But more than just a piece of starry-eyed fan-fiction, “The Idea of You” is a Bildungsroman in disguise. It was the first look Hathaway tried on during fittings with Demetrio in New York. As for Hathaway, we find her in Chanel and leave her, happily ever after, in a rust-red Gabriela Hearst suit.

Persons: It’s, ”, Richard Curtis, Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, lister, Michael Showalter, Robinne Lee, Anne Hathaway, Solène Marchand, Nicholas Galitzine, Hayes Campbell, Moon, Demetrio, Alisha Wetherill, Hayes, Solène, Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Lee, Styles, “, Jacqueline Demetrio, …, “ She’s, Hathaway, Isabel Marant cardigan, suede Isabel Marant, ’, Etro, Gabriella Hearst, Valentino, Demetrio —, Hathaway —, heartthrob, David Bowie, ” Demetrio, he’s Harry, “ Nick, Matty Healy, Loewe, Isabel Marant, it’s, Nick, Constance Bennett, Lowell Sherman, ” Grant, Roberts, Gabriela Hearst Organizations: CNN, Hollywood, Disney Channel, BBC, Amazon, Vogue, SXSW Locations: LA, Isabel, New York, streetwear, Coachella, cardigan, It’s, “

☆ As ‘Alien’ turns 45, those screams still echo through space and time
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —“In space, no one can hear you scream.”“Alien” premiered with that memorable advertising line in June 1979. I went to see “Alien” on its opening weekend with my older brother, knowing relatively little about it. Driving to the Avco cinemas in Westwood near UCLA, we immediately noticed the long line for tickets wrapping around the theater and heading down the block. Yaphet Kotto, Sigourney Weaver and Ian Holm in "Alien." Yet in the 1970s, with films like “Jaws,” “Star Wars” and “Alien,” they seemed to emerge almost organically, yielding screams, either of delight or horror, that, like those memories, have echoed across space and time.

Persons: CNN —, “, Ridley Scott’s, Ellen Ripley, Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto, Ian Holm, –, thrall, Ripley, Romulus, ”, James Cameron’s Organizations: CNN, Los Angeles Times, Avco, UCLA, Fox, Hollywood Locations: Westwood

☆ Chris Pine’s latest red carpet look puts a new spin on ‘method dressing’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Alex Rees | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

(CNN) — At the premiere of his new film “Poolman” in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Chris Pine stepped onto the red carpet in an artfully-disheveled ensemble. Over a light beige slogan tee, Pine wore a “Miami Vice”-worthy blazer accessorized with a large pink peony boutonnière. For the Vanity Fair Oscar's after party on March 27, 2022, Chris Pine wore a rich red velvet smoking jacket over a shirt with a pussybow-style neckline. Rich Fury/VF22/Getty ImagesPictured here in slouchy red, white and blue suiting, Pine attends the Venice International Film Festival on September 05, 2022. Sala Gedu/BackgridOn the “Poolman” red carpet, the 43-year-old actor told E!

Persons: Chris Pine, he’s, Rich Fury, Pine, Franco Origlia, Jon Kopaloff, Anthony Ghnassia, Sala Gedu, Tom Selleck, Harrison Ford, ” Organizations: CNN, —, Miami, Venice Locations: Los Angeles, Hollywood, Beverly Hills , California, Paris, comfy, Instagram, Los Feliz , California

☆ Remember that Versace dress Jennifer Garner wore in ‘13 Going on 30"?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Marie Lodi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

DeSanto accessorized the dress with colorful Swarovski crystal jewelry by Tarina Tarantino, including a blue butterfly statement necklace. Columbia Pictures/Everett CollectionDecades later, the dress has become a beloved artifact for nostalgic rom-com fans and modern fashion enthusiasts alike. “(Garner) put it on, we got her all dolled up, she went to dance, and we moved on,” she said. DeSanto also credits director Gary Winick, who died in 2011, for the film’s fashion sense. As DeSanto points out, “13 Going on 30” is a story about a young woman coming into herself — and how, more than anything, it’s important just to be yourself.

Persons: —, Jenna Rink, Gilson nightgown, baguette, Susie DeSanto, Jennifer Garner, Miu Miu, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Roberto Cavalli, Versace, ” DeSanto, “ I’d, Giovanni Giannoni, Jenna, partygoers, Michael Jackson’s, — Versace, DeSanto, Tarina Tarantino, Tarantino, Marc Jacobs’s, — she’s, ”, “ It’s, Betsey Johnson tutus, Christa B, Allen, Ariana Grande, wasn’t, weren’t, “, Garner, Stella McCartney, Alberta Ferretti, Mark Ruffalo, Jen, we’re, I’ve, Gary Winick, Gary, ” Winick, Mark Ruffalo’s Organizations: CNN, Fairchild, Penske Media, Columbia Pictures, Everett Locations: Manhattan, lockstep, Barney’s, Italy, Etsy, Alberta, “, New York

☆ Opinion: It’s time to change the way we think about sociopaths
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Opinion Sara Stewart | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —This piece contains mild spoilers for the Netflix series “Ripley” and a scene in the movie “Civil War.”Are we finally ready to take another look at why we love to hate sociopaths so much? But his rendition of Ripley – highly capable, chameleonic, but never what you’d call charming — represents a refreshing take on one of the most famous sociopaths in literature and film. Gagne feels Hollywood’s nearly always gotten it wrong with portrayals of sociopaths, reducing them to a collection of cartoonish, villainous traits. In fact, I found one of film’s most recent sociopaths to be singularly chilling because of his very plausibility. He’s in Alex Garland’s “Civil War,” the polarizing film about a vaguely-sketched conflict set in the modern-day United States.

Persons: Sara Stewart, Ripley ”, Sara Stewart Todd Thompson, Andrew Scott’s, Tom Ripley, Patricia Highsmith’s, Scott, who’s, Ripley –, Steven Zaillian’s, “ Ripley, Jennifer Rubin, ”, Rubin, Tony Soprano, Walter White, Patrick Bateman, Dexter Morgan, Don Draper, I’ve, Emily Nussbaum, Norman Lear’s “, Archie Bunker, Carroll O’Connor, Penn Badgley, Joe Goldberg, Sociopath, Patric Gagne, Gagne, Hollywood’s, vilify, Jenna Ortega, Alex Garland’s “, Jesse Plemons —, —, Owen Gleiberman’s, “ Garland, ” Gleiberman, Ripley, sociopathy, we’ll Organizations: CNN, Netflix, Washington, Vogue Locations: Pennsylvania, ”, United States, America

☆ Peter Jackson restores classic 1970 Beatles documentary ‘Let It Be’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —A rarely seen 1970 film following the Beatles just before the band’s breakup will be released on Disney+ after being restored by Hollywood director Peter Jackson, the streaming service announced Tuesday. Jackson, who also made the award-winning 2021 docuseries “The Beatles: Get Back” for Disney+, has carried out a “meticulous restoration” of the film as well as “lovingly remastering the sound,” according to the statement. “One month before its release, The Beatles officially broke up. And so the people went to see ‘Let It Be’ with sadness in their hearts, thinking, ‘I’ll never see The Beatles together again. I will never have that joy again,’ and it very much darkened the perception of the film,” he said in the statement.

Persons: Peter Jackson, ”, Michael Lindsay, Hogg, Jackson, docuseries, Lindsay, ‘ I’ll, I’ve, ” Jackson, Oscar, Sam Mendes, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison Organizations: London CNN, Disney, Beatles, Sony Pictures Entertainment Locations: Hollywood, London

☆ ‘Rust’ shooting: Movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed to be sentenced Monday for involuntary manslaughter
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Christina Maxouris | Cheri Mossburg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the “Rust” film armorer who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter last month for the 2021 on-set fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, is scheduled to be sentenced Monday morning in a New Mexico courtroom. Bowles maintains his 26-year-old client has been scapegoated for the safety failures of film set management and other crew members. Prosecutors also cited jail calls in which Gutierrez Reed allegedly complained “about the negative affects this incident has had on her life” and called jurors derogatory names. “She had six, six live rounds on that movie set, the earliest date that I can track them for you is October 10, (2021),” the prosecutor said. “(Gutierrez Reed) could not anticipate what Baldwin would do.

Persons: CNN — Hannah Gutierrez Reed, Halyna Hutchins, Hutchins, Alec Baldwin, Gutierrez Reed, ”, Gutierrez Reed –, –, Jason Bowles, Bowles, Gutierrez Reed’s, Kari Morrissey, Morrissey, Jason Lewis, “, Prosecutors, Baldwin, Joel Souza, Souza, Hannah Gutierrez, ” Morrissey, Hannah, David Halls Organizations: CNN, Prosecutors, “ Management Locations: New Mexico, Santa Fe, Russian

☆ In ‘Monkey Man,’ Dev Patel attempts to reclaim Hinduism for the underdog
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —“Monkey Man,” Dev Patel’s directorial debut action thriller that he also stars in, wrote and produced, opens with a tale familiar to Hindus around the world. This mythology is the foundation of “Monkey Man,” which hit theaters on April 5. In "Monkey Man," Kid plots revenge on the corrupt forces that raided his forest village and killed his mother. Dev Patel directed, wrote, produced and starred in the action thriller "Monkey Man," which is inspired by the Hindu legend of Hanuman. “Monkey Man,” then, is a warning about what can happen when people are oppressed and disempowered for too long.

Persons: ” Dev Patel’s, Hanuman, Patel himself, —, Patel, ” Patel, Kid, ’ ”, Rana Singh, Sikandar Kher, Baba Shakti, Makarand Deshpande, Rana, Sita, Sobhita, Rama, Ravana, Lord Rama, Sailaja Krishnamurti, ‘ What’s, ” Krishnamurti, “, Thrisha Mohan, Narendra Modi, Lord Ram, Imtiyaz Khan, ” Mohan, Baba Shakti —, ”, Krishnamurti, Mohan, Modi, it’s, wasn’t, Siddhant Adlakha, ” Adlakha, It’s, Amitabh Bachhan, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Keanu Reeves, Hollywood’s, Hollywood’s “ John Wick ”, India’s underclasses, “ He’s, Dev Patel, Monica Schipper, hijras, Kid bungles, he’s, Baba, Shiva, Parvati, Bedatri D, Choudhury Organizations: CNN, SXSW, Universal Pictures, Queen’s University, Human Rights, Indian, Anadolu, Getty, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, TIME, Alpha, Philadelphia Inquirer Locations: Yatana, India, Ayodhya, Hong Kong, Hollywood’s “, Kid’s

☆ Opinion: ‘Civil War’ is more than a reflection on America’s divisions
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Opinion Noah Berlatsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Noah Berlatsky Noah BerlatskyAlex Garland’s “Civil War” has mostly been discussed as a reflection of, and a warning about, America’s current partisan divisions. Unlike the actual US Civil War, this one doesn’t seem to have any particular racial or racist connotations. But it’s the same kind of cop out that powers most of Hollywood’s most iconic Vietnam war movies. Hollywood Vietnam war movies generally aren’t about whether America did the right thing, nor are they about how America’s choices affected people in Vietnam. Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" (1987), starring Matthew Modine as Joker, is based on the events of the Vietnam war.

Persons: Noah Berlatsky, CNN —, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Noah Berlatsky Noah Berlatsky Alex Garland’s “, ”, he’s, Garland, Nick Offerman, Lee, Kirsten Dunst, Joel, Wagner Moura, Jessie, Cailee, Sammy, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Lee Wagner, Trump, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, Jesse Plemons, that’s, Francis Ford Coppola’s, Stanley Kubrick’s, don’t, —, Dawn ”, Stanley Kubrick's, Matthew Modine, It’s, transfixed Organizations: CNN, Union, Hollywood, America, Central, Warner Bros Locations: Chicago, Vietnam, Viet, American, Washington, California, Texas, Hollywood Vietnam, American Vietnam, Hollywood

☆ Opinion | ‘Civil War’ and Its Terrifying Premonition of American Collapse
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Michelle Goldberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Going into Alex Garland’s astonishing new film, “Civil War,” I expected to be irritated by the implausibility of its premise. In one 2022 poll, 43 percent of Americans said they thought a civil war within the next decade was at least somewhat likely. “Civil War” has received plenty of adulatory reviews, but Garland has also been widely criticized for eliding the ideological forces driving America’s fracturing. But now that I’ve seen “Civil War,” which is neither glib nor cynical, Garland’s decision to keep the film’s politics a little ambiguous seems like a source of its power. Still, it’s not a stretch to interpret the film as a premonition of how a seething, entropic country could collapse under the weight of Donald Trump’s return.

Persons: Alex Garland’s, ”, Garland, “, I’m, —, Lee, it’s, Donald Trump’s Organizations: “, Florida Alliance, Western Forces of, New People’s Army, Southwest, Portland Maoists Locations: America, California, Texas, Loyalist, East Coast, Western Forces of California, Austin , Texas

☆ All the times Zendaya served looks on the ‘Challengers’ press tour
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Leah Asmelash | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But her latest press tour is, well, a grand slam. Scroll to see Zendaya’s best looks from the “Challengers” press tour. Zendaya's press tour began with the Australian premiere of "Challengers" in Sydney on March 26. Emmanuel DunandAFP/Getty ImagesIn one of her more literal looks, Zendaya wore a custom Loewe dress to a photocall in Rome on April 8, clearly designed to mimic a classic tennis outfit with its pleated skirt and classic lined v-neck. Gareth Cattermole/Getty ImagesDuring the “Dune: Part Two,” press tour, Zendaya’s co-stars, including Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson and Timothée Chalamet, matched her commitment to the sartorial ‘bit’ with their own red carpet wardrobes.

Persons: CNN — Zendaya, ” Zendaya, ” Law Roach, Zendaya’s, Thierry Mugler, ” Roach, Flavio Brancaleone, Louis, Emmanuel Dunand, Kristy Sparow, Louis Vuitton, Emmanuel DunandAFP, Zendaya, Daniele Venturelli, Calvin Klein, Vittorio Zunino Celotto, Thom Browne, Hoda Davaine, Dave Benett, Gareth Cattermole, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Timothée, ”, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist, O’Connor, Tashi, Loewe, Jonathan Anderson —, — Organizations: CNN, ”, British “ Vogue, US Vogue, British Vogue, Getty, Paris, Rome, “ Locations: British, Sydney, Paris, AFP, Rome

☆ Alec Baldwin had ‘no control of his own emotions’ on ‘Rust’ set, prosecutors claim in new legal filing
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Special prosecutors in New Mexico claim in a new legal filing that actor Alec Baldwin’s behavior on the “Rust” movie set contributed to “safety comprises” that led to the fatal shooting of the film’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021. Prosecutors sought to defend their case in a filing Friday after Baldwin’s team filed a motion in March to dismiss the indictment against the actor. “Witnesses have testified that it was this exact conduct that contributed to safety compromises on set,” the filing alleged. Gutierrez Reed – who was responsible for firearm safety and storage on the movie’s set – was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March. Prosecutors also criticized public statements made by Baldwin after the incident, accusing the actor of attempting to sway public opinion.

Persons: Alec Baldwin’s, Halyna Hutchins, Prosecutors, Baldwin’s, Baldwin, “, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, ” Baldwin, “ Witnesses, Hutchins, Joel Souza, Gutierrez Reed –, –, Gutierrez Reed, Hannah Gutierrez’s, ” Organizations: CNN —, CNN Locations: New Mexico

☆ Prosecutors Defend Case Against Alec Baldwin in ‘Rust’ Shooting
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Julia Jacobs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Prosecutors in New Mexico defended their handling of the involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin on Friday, filing court papers in which they accused the actor of negligently failing to make sure the gun he was handed before the fatal “Rust” shooting was not loaded with live ammunition. Mr. Baldwin’s lawyers had filed a motion last month seeking to get the charge dismissed, calling the prosecution of the actor an “abuse of the system” and accusing prosecutors of having failed to give the grand jury evidence that could have helped his case. Mr. Baldwin was practicing drawing a gun he had been told was safe when it fired a live bullet in October 2021, killing the film’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins. The armorer responsible for weapons on the set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last month for loading a live round into the gun on a set where there was not supposed to be any live ammunition. In the court filing on Friday, prosecutors laid out some of their arguments for going ahead with the criminal case against Mr. Baldwin.

Persons: Alec Baldwin, Baldwin, Halyna Hutchins, Hannah Gutierrez, Reed, Baldwin’s Locations: New Mexico

☆ Opinion: ‘Monkey Man’ knocks James Bond out of the ring
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Opinion Noah Berlatsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“Monkey Man” is set in a semi-fictionalized Mumbai, replete with homelessness, crime and swooping, askew camera angles. Action movies — even relatively gritty ones without fanciful superhero CGI — require a bigger outlay for location and stunts. “Monkey Man” was plagued by production difficulties and financial struggles. Mindless s**t. I wanted to give it soul.” That’s an admirable sentiment — and one that isn’t just restricted to action movies. “Monkey Man” growls and spits and beats its chest and leaps you’re never quite sure where.

Persons: Noah Berlatsky, …, Dev, Jordan Peele’s, Noah Berlatsky Noah Berlatsky, Peele, Patel, Dev Patel, Rana, Sikandar Kher, gyrating, John Wick, Gordon, James Bond, Chris Hemsworth’s Tyler, slogs, Paul Atreides, Jordan Peele, Vianney Le Caer, —, Bruce Lee’s, Carl Franklin’s, Alice Wu’s, Jordan, didn’t, ”, We’re, there’s, “, Peele hadn’t, ” Patel, you’re Organizations: CNN, Universal Pictures, Everett, Marvel Cinematic, Netflix Locations: Chicago, Mumbai, East Asia, South Asia, Eastern Europe, London, White, Hollywood

☆ Thursday in the Park With Bigfoot
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Erik Piepenburg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If you were near the Ramble in Central Park on Thursday afternoon, you might have thought you were in a “Planet of the Apes”-themed episode of “What Would You Do?”Because you may have witnessed a 6-foot-7 longhaired sasquatch slowly traversing tall rocks and promenading through thickets, grunting at the sky and scaring children and dogs silly. But what you saw wasn’t Bigfoot. The sasquatch sighting was a gorilla — sorry, guerrilla — publicity effort for “Sasquatch Sunset,” a new film directed by the brothers David and Nathan Zellner that opens in New York on April 12. Conceptually, the promotional shenanigans in Central Park were in line with the film’s irreverent sensibility. A mix of bro comedy, National Geographic documentary and emotional family drama, it stars Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg as members of a pack of kind-eyed sasquatches who brave life and death in the wilderness.

Persons: David, Nathan Zellner, Riley Keough, Jesse Eisenberg Organizations: Geographic Locations: Central Park, New York

☆ ‘The Matrix’ has a fifth film in the works and, no, this is not a simulation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The beloved “Matrix” movie franchise is expanding with an upcoming fifth installment, with the film’s original co-writer and co-director Lana Wachowski leading the charge as executive producer. According to a press release from the film’s studio Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group sent on Wednesday, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Drew Goddard will write and direct the film alongside his producing partner Sarah Esberg. (Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group is a subsidiary of CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. “The Matrix” premiered in 1999 and stars Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving and Carrie-Anne Moss. It went on to win four Academy Awards and spawned three sequels, including “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” in 2003, and “The Matrix Resurrections” in 2021.

Persons: Lana Wachowski, Oscar, Drew Goddard, Sarah Esberg, Jesse Ehrman, Warner, Goddard “, Lana, Lilly, Wachowski, Keanu Reeves, Reeves, Goddard, ’, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving, Carrie, Anne Moss Organizations: CNN, Warner Bros, Warner Bros ., Motion Locations: ”

☆ ‘The People’s Joker’ and the Perils of Playing With a Studio’s Copyright
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Eric Grode | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Vera Drew never received a cease-and-desist letter. She would like to be very clear on that point. Unless, that is, a filmmaker receives a letter from Warner Bros. “This letter was actually kind of complimentary, but it expressed their concern that the film infringed on their brand,” Drew said. I was like, ‘No, I got a passport for this!

Persons: Vera Drew, Drew, Megan Amram, Tim, Eric, Sacha Baron Cohen, “, Al Yankovic, ” Drew, ’ Organizations: Toronto, Warner Bros Locations: Los Angeles

☆ Opinion: 25 years later, ‘The Matrix’ is less sci-fi than tech reality
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Opinion Rizwan Virk | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

In 2003, Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom imagined a “technologically mature” civilization could easily create a simulated world. With simulated worlds far outnumbering the “real” world, the likelihood that we are in a simulation would be significantly higher than not. Remember, the simulations would be so good that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a physical and a simulated world. Either the signals are being beamed directly into your brain, or we are simply AI characters inside the simulation. Already, millions of humans are chatting with AI characters, and millions of dollars are pouring into making AI characters more realistic.

Persons: Virk, X, CNN — It’s, ”, Lana, Lilly Wachowski, Philip K, Dick, Tessa, Morpheus, Laurence Fishburne, Keanu Reeves, Nick Bostrom, Elon Musk, Smith, Hugo Weaving, Carrie Ann, Moss, Musk, OpenAI, it’s, Reeves ’ Organizations: Labs, MIT, Physics, Eastern, Arizona State University’s College of Global Futures, Center for Science, CNN, Apple, Trinity Locations: zenentrepreneur.com, Oxford, Silicon, Silicon Valley

☆ Golf movies: From cult classics to charming comedies, what happened when the sport got the Hollywood treatment
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The plot revolves around a high school student – played by Michael O’Keefe – and his journey to obtain a college scholarship. ‘Happy Gilmore’Arguably one of the most famous sports films of all time, ‘Happy Gilmore’ is an all-time classic. The movie tells the story of the journey of Happy Gilmore – played by Adam Sandler – from failing ice hockey player to golf phenom after discovering his natural gifts on the course. Sandler's character in 'Happy Gilmore' battles to save his grandmother's house as well as adjusting to a new sport in golf. “With ‘Happy Gilmore,’ the funny thing is that there are so many non-golfers who would know what the ‘Happy Gilmore swing’ is or they’ve watched the film,” Boulden told CNN’s Living Golf in 2021.

Persons: –, Michael O’Keefe –, Elihu Smails, Ted Knight, Al Czervik, Rodney Dangerfield, greenskeeper –, Bill Murray –, Chevy Chase, ‘ Caddyshack, ’, Kenny Loggins –, Woods, ‘ Happy Gilmore, Happy Gilmore –, Adam Sandler –, Gilmore, acclimatize, Happy Gilmore, Shooter McGavin, Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Amy Boulden, ” Boulden, it’s, they’ve, Boulden, Happy Gilmore ’, Kevin Costner, Rene Russo, ‘, Costner’s Roy ‘, McAvoy –, Molly Griswold –, Russo –, Griswold, David Simms, Costner, Don Johnson, McAvoy, Eddie Pepperell, caddie, Romeo Posar, Cheech Marin, Posar, Maurice Flitcroft –, Mark Rylance –, Maurice Flitcroft, Mark Rylance, Catana Starks, Starks, Taraji P, Henson, Jason Kempin Organizations: CNN, Bushwood Country, Smails, ESPN, CNN Sport, European, Hollywood, BBC Films, British Film Institute, Tennessee State University, National Black College, Hall of Fame Locations: Texas, British

☆ ‘Problemista’ actor Laith Nakli plays an immigration lawyer. In real life he’s fighting his own case
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Catherine E. Shoichet | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

Khalil, played by Laith Nakli, perks up and races to scribble on his notepad. And as he helps promote the film, he’s speaking out about a side of himself that few people have seen. Laith Nakli, actorThe crime could have led to his deportation. … That pressure is just completely unfair.”Actor Laith Nakli plays an earnest immigration lawyer in "Problemista." The cloud Nakli feels every day wasn’t literally depicted on-screen, but Nakli says he saw it clearly hovering over Alejandro’s every move.

Persons: CNN —, ”, tepidly, “, Julio Torres, Khalil, Torres ’ Alejandro, Alejandro, ” Alejandro, Laith Nakli, ” Khalil, Elizabeth Asencio, Tilda Swinton, Elizabeth, Jon, Torres, it’s, “ I’ve, I’ve, “ Problemista’s, Nakli, It’s, who’d, Mr, Nasim Awad, ” Nakli, he’d, Marvel, Obama, hasn’t, That’s, He’s, he’s, you’d, ” Torres, Critics, haven’t, Larry Owens, toymaker Alejandro's, Isabella Rosselini, Ramy Youssef, Nakli’s, Laith, ” Youssef, “ He’s, Uncle Naseem, Ramy Youseff, Craig Blankenhorn, who’s, Julie In, Hayley Wilson Organizations: CNN, Khalil Immigration, SNL, Customs, Craigslist, Justice, Globe, Service Locations: United States, Salvadoran, El Salvador, “, New York, Damascus, Syria, King Kong, Texas, —, Hulu, America, “ Problemista

☆ Kristen Stewart Uses Naked Dressing to Make a Point
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Vanessa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even in the context of the current pantsless trend prevalent on the runway and in some celebrity circles, as well as the vogue for thematic dressing at movie openings, Kristen Stewart’s looks during her press tour for “Love Lies Bleeding” have stood out. Rarely has an actress been so unapologetically, gloriously undressed. That’s a lot of subtext under very little — clothing, that is. Margot Robbie had fun dressing à la Barbie during her “Barbie” press tour; Zendaya captured eyeballs and social media during her “Dune: Part Two” camera calls dressed in sci-fi-themed Mugler, Givenchy and Alaïa; and the cast of “Godzilla Minus One” walked the Oscar red carpet in matching lizard-heel footwear. But with her “Love Lies Bleeding” appearances, Ms. Stewart took the concept of character cosplay to a new, more pointed level.

Persons: Kristen Stewart’s, gloriously undressed, Stewart, Tara Swennen, adroitly, Margot Robbie, Barbie, Zendaya, ” Locations: Givenchy

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