The next Oppenheimer? Christopher Nolan's new film is selling out already
Nolan is an anomaly, a licence for studio execs to put that deposit on a beach house. So one can only imagine their shock when Nolan said that he wanted to follow Oppenheimer with an adaptation of The Odyssey, and that he needed an estimated $250 million. A poem from the 7th century BC, panicked suits must have cried: who's going to be interested in that?
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The Independent
3 minutes ago
- The Independent
Scientists study snail that can grow its eyes back in hope of helping humans with eye injuries
Scientists are studying a type of snail that can grow its eyes back in the hope of helping humans with eye injuries. The complex structure of humans eyes has been found to be similar to those of the freshwater apple snail, which can entirely regenerate its eyes. A new study showed that the eyes of both have many anatomical and genetic features in common. Researchers are now studying how the regrowth is possible in the snails, with the aim of eventually restoring the vision of people who have eye injuries. They have created ways to edit the snail's genome, enabling them to look at the genetic and molecular mechanisms driving eye regeneration. Alice Accorsi, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Davis, who led the team, said: 'Apple snails are an extraordinary organism. They provide a unique opportunity to study regeneration of complex sensory organs. Before this, we were missing a system for studying full eye regeneration.' A freshwater snail species originating in South America, the golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata) is now invasive in many other places around the world. However, Ms Accorsi said it is the exact traits that make the animals so invasive, which make them ideal to experiment with in the lab. 'Apple snails are resilient, their generation time is very short, and they have a lot of babies,' she said. As well as being straightforward to grow, apple snails have 'camera-type' eyes, which produce especially high-resolution images – and are the same type that humans have. And snails, in general, are also known for their regenerative abilities. 'When I started reading about this, I was asking myself, why isn't anybody already using snails to study regeneration?' questioned Ms Accorsi, who is the first person to do so. 'I think it's because we just hadn't found the perfect snail to study, until now. A lot of other snails are difficult or very slow to breed in the lab, and many species also go through metamorphosis, which presents an extra challenge.' The study, published in Nature Communications, showed the similarities between the apple snails' and human eyes via dissections, microscopy and genomic analysis conducted by the team. Ms Accorsi said: 'We did a lot of work to show that many genes that participate in human eye development are also present in the snail. After regeneration, the morphology and gene expression of the new eye is pretty much identical to the original one.' The researchers then outlined the regrowth process of the snails' eyes following amputation. They explained: 'First, the wound must heal to prevent infection and fluid loss, which usually takes around 24 hours. Then, unspecialized cells migrate and proliferate in the area. Over the course of about a week and a half, these cells specialize and begin to form eye structures including the lens and retina. By day 15 post-amputation, all of the eye's structures are present, including the optic nerve, but these structures continue to mature and grow for several more weeks.' However, even though the team know the apple snails have all the components required to form images, the team are still working on finding out if the animals can actually see. The researchers are also editing the snails' genome using CRISPR-Cas9 in attempts to understand how genes regulate regeneration. 'The idea is that we mutate specific genes and then see what effect it has on the animal, which can help us understand the function of different parts of the genome,' said Ms Accorsi. 'If we find a set of genes that are important for eye regeneration, and these genes are also present in vertebrates, in theory we could activate them to enable eye regeneration in humans.'
The Guardian
4 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Egg yolks, horse sex and necrophile nuns: Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights confirmed as ‘unconventional'
Equal parts intrigue and scepticism had already dogged the forthcoming adaptation of Wuthering Heights from Emerald Fennell – whose first two films, Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, displayed a love of mordant and explicit envelope-pushing. As reported by World of Reel, a first test screening for the film, which stars Margot Robbie and Saltburn's Jacob Elordi, took place earlier this week in Dallas, and audience reaction was 'mixed'. One attender described the film as 'aggressively provocative and tonally abrasive' and suggested it strongly recalled the 'stylised depravity' of Saltburn with scenes of 'clinical masturbation', a bondage-tinged sexual encounter involving horse reins and less conventional romance or emotional complexity than many aficionados of Emily Brontë's novel might expect. The film apparently opens with a public hanging in which the 'condemned man ejaculates mid-execution'. The crowd react orgiastically, and a nun 'fondles the corpse's visible erection'. Other signature Fennell shots include lingering takes of 'suggestive textures' such as egg yolks, bread dough and slug trails. Earlier this year the film's casting director, Kharmel Cochrane, defended her choices after many suggested Robbie was too old to play the role of Catherine Earnshaw, as well as questioning Elordi's ethnicity, since Heathcliff, the foundling with whom she falls in love, is generally perceived to have a Romany or Gypsy background. Most big and small screen adaptations of the novel have ignored this, with the character having been played by actors including Ralph Fiennes, Tom Hardy and Timothy Dalton. Andrea Arnold's 2011 adaptation cast a mixed race actor, James Howson, in the role. Speaking at the Sands film festival in Scotland, Cochrane said there was 'no need to be accurate' as the source material is 'just a book'. She continued: 'There's definitely going to be some English Lit fans that are not going to be happy. Wait until you see the set design, because that is even more shocking. And there may or may not be a dog collar in it.' The film, which is scheduled for release on Valentine's Day 2026, will be Robbie's first major role since Barbie and Fennell's first film since Saltburn became an audience sensation in 2023, although it underperformed with awards bodies. World of Reel quotes another attender of the Dallas screening as saying that despite strong leading performances, Fennell's take on their characters is sufficiently 'cold and unlikable' that engagement with their fates is made difficult.
The Sun
4 minutes ago
- The Sun
Chris Hughes told me how he used old-fashioned trick to make JoJo his girlfriend & revealed exact moment he fell in love
ANYONE who has watched an episode of Love Island will know that dating in the modern world is complicated. From using dating apps to 'seeing each other' then going exclusive, to finally being boyfriend and girlfriend, it's a wonder how anyone gets into a relationship. 7 7 But we can reveal that Chris Hughes used a surprising old-fashioned trick to turn his friendship with JoJo Siwa into something more serious. I was the first journalist to interview Chris about how he'd fallen for JoJo - and he revealed he took inspiration from William Shakespeare to woo her. The 32-year-old put pen to paper and declared his love in writing. He told me: 'I was confused about how I felt. Then I wasn't confused anymore. I knew I needed to write it down to explain to her how I was feeling.' Perhaps it's because the horse racing commentator previously appeared on the ITV2 dating show Love Island in 2017, finishing third with then-girlfriend Olivia Attwood, that he'd had enough of the confusing modern way of dating - leading him to use more traditional methods to get the girl. The pair were thrown together while both appearing on Celebrity Big Brother in April. Having never met before, Chris, who lives in Ascot, formed an immediate bond with the 22-year-old Californian-based dancer. They both insisted it was purely platonic, especially since bisexual JoJo was in a relationship with Kath Ebbs, who identifies as non-binary. After she dumped the 27-year-old Australian actor at the Celebrity Big Brother finale party, speculation intensified about how they felt about each other. Chris and JoJo initially remained coy but after transatlantic trips to see each other, the pair took it up a level. Chris Hughes reveals baby plans with JoJo Siwa as 'besotted' hunk gushes over new love After much speculation about what was REALLY going on with them, they hard launched as a couple after Chris flew out to Mexico City, then onto Orlando to surprise her for her birthday. Chris explained: 'I went to Florida thinking 'I really like this person', but I was slightly confused about the feelings. I had already written her birthday card before I flew over. I took all these presents over for her. They were fun and sentimental gifts rather than anything of monetary value. 'But the night before her birthday, I realised my feelings had changed. I told her: 'I've got to go do something. I'll be back in half an hour.' 'I went to the hotel reception and borrowed a pen and came back up to the room. 'I took the card and opened it because I had to redo it. I sat in the toilet on my own and I rewrote the card. I knew my feelings had changed, and there was so much more that I needed to say than what I originally put in the birthday card. I wasn't confused anymore, and I knew what my heart was saying, and I wanted to tell her.' 7 7 7 Since then, the couple, who are having a transatlantic relationship, have been sickeningly loved up and constantly jetting back and forth to spend time with each other. MADLY IN LOVE Speaking about falling in love with JoJo, who he calls by her full name Joelle, he said: 'Some of the best relationships start as friendships. I look back at the CBB clips and could see how we gravitated towards each other. "We just wanted to be there for each other in the house. I adored the ground she walked on and the way she handled herself. How can you not love her? But it was as a friend. 'Then, towards the end of the show, I was confused about my feelings for her. And you don't know what it's going to be like on the outside. I was saying to myself: 'Come on, Chris, pull yourself together.' 'We were just friends at that stage, but we were talking all the time. I was missing her, and I felt like I needed to see her, so I flew to Mexico City to surprise her. "I was so nervous, even though I'd lived with her for three weeks. Then we ended up going to Orlando and I met her family – it was the best three days of my life. "From the minute I woke up until I went to bed, I was just so happy. It was at that moment something fully ignited inside me. "I went: 'God, I really like this person', and I knew she reciprocated it.' 7 7 And despite now being officially boyfriend and girlfriend and sharing constant loved-up snaps together on Instagram, the adorable old school way of communicating continues. He added: 'I like writing her letters. I don't do it every day. But when we are apart and I miss her, I write to her. I like writing, and I like to see my handwriting. I like sitting there. It gives me something to do. So when I'm at home alone, I'll get my little pad out.'
