‘Secrets of the Penguins' to Be Premiered on Eve of Earth Day
Years of filming, often in extreme conditions, has provided new insights into the extraordinary challenges endured by penguins for a documentary series to be premiered on Monday, the eve of Earth Day.
"Secrets of the Penguins" is voiced by US actor Blake Lively and hosted by National Geographic explorer Bertie Gregory, who hopes to engage the widest possible audience with the natural world.
He says filming that included 274 days on the Ekström Ice Shelf in Antarctica, home to around 20,000 emperor penguins, as well as in locations from Cape Town in South Africa to the Galapagos Islands, led to discovering "new penguin secrets".
"I have filmed penguins a lot before," he said. "I thought I knew penguins. I was so wrong."
The three-part series, to be screened on Disney+ on Monday, and on Nat Geo Wild from Tuesday, in all took more than two years to film.
The highlights include penguin chicks jumping off a 50-foot (15 m) ice cliff in order to dive into the sea for the first time in their young lives.
"As soon as the first one went ... they all started to jump. It was an amazing moment to witness," Gregory said, adding the exploit has never been broadcast before.
"They're the only animal in the world to raise their young during the Antarctic winter. It is the coldest, darkest, windiest place on Earth," he said further.
Gregory says the significance goes beyond any one species.
"We should want to look after penguins, not just because it makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside, but because we need healthy, wild places for so many things," he said.
The 31-year-old explorer has two Daytime Emmy Awards for the series "Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory" and a BAFTA Television Craft Award for shooting British naturalist David Attenborough's "Seven Worlds, One Planet".
He does not see himself taking on the mantle of the 98-year-old Attenborough, who is still at work.
"He's one of a kind," Gregory said. "There is no replacement."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Saudi Gazette
03-06-2025
- Saudi Gazette
Disney lays off hundreds more as it cuts costs
ORLANDO — Disney says it is laying off several hundred more people around the world, with workers in its film, television and finance departments impacted. The entertainment giant has been under pressure as viewers move away from cable TV subscriptions in favor of streaming platforms. "As our industry transforms at a rapid pace, we continue to evaluate ways to efficiently manage our businesses while fuelling the state-of-the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney," a spokesperson told the BBC. The latest job cuts follow major layoffs announced in 2023, when around 7,000 workers were let go as part of a drive by chief executive Bob Iger to save $5.5bn (£4.1bn). The cuts will impact multiple teams including marketing departments for its film and television units. Workers in Disney's casting and development and corporate finance departments will also be affected."We have been surgical in our approach to minimize the number of impacted employees," said a spokesperson. The company also said that no teams will be closed down California-based firm employs 233,000 workers, with just over 60,000 of those based outside the owns a host of companies across the entertainment industry including Marvel, Hulu and firm reported stronger than expected earnings in May, with overall revenue of $23.6bn for the first three months of the year. That was a 7% increase from the same period in said the growth was fuelled by new subscribers to its Disney+ streaming company has released a number of new films this year including Captain America: Brave New World and Snow latest release, Lilo & Stitch, broke box office records in the US for the Memorial Day holiday animated film has seen global ticket sales of more than $610m since its release in May, according to industry data firm Box Office Mojo. — BBC
Asharq Al-Awsat
01-06-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
‘Lilo & Stitch' Passes ‘Sinners' to Become 2nd Highest Grossing Film of 2025
'Lilo & Stich' and 'Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning' dominated the box office charts again after fueling a record-breaking Memorial Day weekend. Theaters in the US and Canada had several new films to offer this weekend as well, including Sony's family friendly 'Karate Kid: Legends' and the A24 horror movie 'Bring Her Back.' According to studio estimates Sunday, it added up to a robust $145 million post-holiday weekend that's up over 115% from the same timeframe last year. Disney's live-action hybrid 'Lilo & Stitch' took first place again with $63 million from 4,410 locations in North America. It was enough to pass 'Sinners' to become the second-highest grossing movie of the year with $280.1 million in domestic ticket sales. Globally, it's running total is $610.8 million. 'Sinners,' meanwhile, is still going strong in its seventh weekend with another $5.2 million, bumping it to $267.1 million domestically and $350.1 million globally. The eighth 'Mission: Impossible' movie also repeated in second place, with $27.3 million from 3,861 locations. As with 'Lilo & Stitch,' that's down 57% from its opening. With $122.6 million in domestic tickets sold, it's performing in line with the two previous installments. But with a reported production budget of $400 million, profitability is a ways off. Internationally, it added $76.1 million (including $25.2 million from China where it just opened), bringing its global total to $353.8 million. Leading the newcomers was Sony's 'Karate Kid: Legends,' with an estimated $21 million from 3,809 locations. The movie brings Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio together to train a new kid, the kung fu prodigy Li Fong (Ben Wang). Chan starred in a 2010 reboot of the 1984 original, while Macchio has found a new generation of fans in the series 'Cobra Kai,' which just concluded a six-season run. Reviews might have been mixed, but opening weekend audiences gave the PG-13 rated film a strong A- CinemaScore and 4.5 stars on PostTrak. It also only cost a reported $45 million to produce and has several weeks until a new family-friendly film arrives. Fourth place went 'Final Destination: Bloodlines,' which earned $10.8 million in its third weekend. The movie is the highest-grossing in the franchise, not accounting for inflation, with $229.3 million globally. The weekend's other big newcomer, 'Bring Her Back' rounded out the top five with $7.1 million from 2,449 screens. Starring Sally Hawkins as a foster mother with some disturbing plans, the film is the sophomore feature of twin filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou, who made the 2023 horror breakout 'Talk to Me.' It earned a rare-for-horror B+ CinemaScore and is essentially the only new film in the genre until '28 Years Later' opens on June 20. A new Wes Anderson movie, 'The Phoenician Scheme,' also debuted in New York and Los Angeles this weekend, where it made $270,000. It expands nationwide next weekend. The summer box office forecast remains promising, though there's a long way to go to get to the $4 billion target (a pre-pandemic norm that only the 'Barbenheimer' summer has surpassed). The month of May is expected to close out with $973 million – up 75% from May 2024, according to data from Comscore.
Asharq Al-Awsat
26-05-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Demi Lovato Marries Singer-Songwriter Jordan ‘Jutes' Lutes in California
She's more than just cool for the summer — Demi Lovato is officially married. The musician-actor, 32, tied the knot with Canadian singer-songwriter Jordan 'Jutes' Lutes, 34, on Sunday in California, as first exclusively reported by Vogue. The couple met while working on Lovato's last album that was released in 2022, and dated for nearly two years before Lutes proposed in December 2023. Lutes co-wrote a few of the songs, including 'Happy Ending,' 'City of Angels," and the pop-punk single, 'Substance.' Lovato wore a white Vivienne Westwood dress and Lutes wore a Saint Laurent suit. Representatives for Lovato did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment. Lovato, a former child star, began her entertainment career on 'Barney & Friends' before becoming a staple of Disney Channel in the 2000s for her role in the 'Camp Rock' films and as the star of 'Sonny with a Chance.' Beyond her acting, Lovato has long been celebrated for her gifted soprano and has released eight albums across her career. Lutes, an independent artist whose hybridist music marries elements of emo, pop-punk and trap, was previously signed to Capitol Records. Prior to her relationship with Lutes, Lovato was engaged to the actor Max Ehrich in 2020. They called off their engagement after two months.
