In ‘Murderbot' and ‘Overcompensating,' hunks with something to hide
It's surely a coincidence that two summer comedies featuring conflicted avatars of conventional masculinity are airing the same week — and that both protagonists spend their respective seasons trying to hide who they really are. But it's a fun coincidence, akin to when competing studios put out two versions of the same blockbuster around the same time ('A Bug's Life' and 'Antz,' 'Armageddon' and 'Deep Impact').
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Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Yahoo
Child Actress from 'The Day After 'Breaks Down Sobbing While Rewatching Bombing Scenes in the 1983 Nuclear War TV Movie
The landmark 1983 TV movie The Day After showed viewers the aftermath of a fictional nuclear strike in Middle America It remains one of the highest-rated TV movies of all time The new documentary Television Event explores the making of the filmThere's an old saying that goes like this: "If there's a nuclear war, only two species will survive: the cockroaches and Cher." Thankfully, that theory has yet to be tested, although a 1983 ABC television movie called The Day After painted a vivid and terrifying what-if nuclear Armageddon scenario. The newly released documentary Television Event goes behind-the-scenes of the Cold War-era television classic, which presented an alternate (and to many at the time, seemingly inevitable) reality in which a nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union leaves two cities — Lawrence, Kans., and Kansas City, Mo. — flattened. Both real-life cities were chosen as settings for the telefilm because of their proximity to numerous missile silos. The Day After was initially intended to be a four-hour miniseries airing over two nights. It was also meant to put the fear of God into viewers... literally. Ed Hume, the film's credited writer, reveals in the documentary that "Silence in Heaven," a phrase he pulled directly from the Bible's Book of Revelation, was the original title of his screenplay. Television Event, directed by Jeff Daniels (not the Emmy-winning actor, but the maker of activism-minded documentaries like Mother with a Gun) reveals that The Day After filmmakers wanted to make a movie in which big-name performers wouldn't overshadow the message. Stars like Donald Sutherland, Blythe Danner and Roots actor George Stanford Brown were passed over in favor of two-time Oscar winner Jason Robards, John Lithgow and Steve Guttenberg. Much of the cast of extras and actors in some larger roles were handpicked from among locals in Lawrence. Ellen Anthony, who played Joleen Dahlberg, the youngest daughter in one of the featured families, was one of the chosen. She appears in the documentary and shares her memories of being cast in the movie and filming it. "We surrendered our innocence," she says. "We surrendered that to this larger goal. We were going to do something very serious." At one point, Anthony is seen watching the movie's harrowing bombing scenes and breaks down crying. 'That's really hard for me to watch. Because that's… It's really hard for me to watch," she says, as tears fall down her cheeks. "Because that's my town, that's my child..." She stops in the middle of the word and closes her eyes before trying to go on. "I'm sorry, I can't see it right now.' 'Those locations were the locations of my childhood," she continues. "The group of students that you see vaporized was my actual fifth-grade class. That's hard to watch. That's really hard to watch.' That was the case for many of those who saw the movie, which remains one of the highest-rated TV films of all time. According to the documentary, 67% of the people in the U.S. watching TV that night — some 100 million people total — watched The Day After. Following the movie, ABC aired a special edition of Viewpoint in which ABC news anchor Ted Koppel comforted viewers by reminding them The Day After was just a movie, but also warning them that what happens in the movie could happen in real life. 'It's sort of necessary to pick up a glass of water and say, 'OK, well, wake up now," Koppel, 85, says in an interview filmed for the documentary. "We're gonna talk about this, but that movie — you know it was a movie, right? It didn't happen. And everything is OK for the time being.' ' That episode of Viewpoint included an appearance by then U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, who assured viewers that the events of the movie would never happen in real life. Thought leaders of the time, including former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, William F. Buckley, Carl Sagan and former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, took part in a panel to debate the merit of the film. The Day After, which was also shown in Russia and in Hiroshima, Japan — where the U.S. dropped an atom bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, hastening the end of World War II — had a lasting effect. In his memoir, Ronald Reagan, who was president when the movie aired, wrote that it left him 'greatly depressed.' Television Event posits that the movie 'led to the biggest decline in nuclear weapons in history.' "The Day After was an important thing," Nicholas Meyer, who directed the TV movie, says near the end of the documentary. "And people realize, in retrospect, just how important it was — certainly the most valuable thing I've gotten to do with my life to date." Television Event is now playing in select theaters, including Film Forum in New York City. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Yahoo
Magnus Carlsen sets early pace as stars collide at Norway Chess
Magnus Carlsen arrived in vintage form at the start of the Norway Chess tournament. The encounter began inconclusively with the six stars – in ranking order Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Arjun Erigaisi, Gujesh Dommaraju and Wei Yi – all launching a win or two. Gukesh, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Wednesday, won in round three against Nakamura. Carlsen's version of one of Bobby Fischer's favourite openings set the tone last week for another clean sweep of the No 1 of the global elite. Carlsen's comprehensive victory in the Speed Championship, which this year also acted as a qualifier for the Esports World Cup, included mini-match victories over three important rivals. Advertisement His win against France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was a rare venture into a classical Sicilian Defence with Bc4, like Fischer used to play in his pomp. The individual twists were 6 h3 and 14 Ba4!, but the offbeat strategy was classic Bobby, with a brutal attack against Black's light squares. White: Carlsen. Black: Vachier-Lagrave. Opening: Sicilian Defence. 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 h3 Nc6 5 d4 cxd4 6 Nxd4 e5 7 Nf3 h6 8 Bc4 Be6 9 Bb3 Be7 10 0-0 0-0 11 Re1 Rc8 12 Nd5 Bxd5 13 exd5 Na5 14 Ba4! Improving on an earlier Carlsen game where 14 c3 was fine for Black. 15 c3 f5 16 Bc2 Qb6 17 Rb1 Rf7 18 a4 Qc7 19 g4! Opening up the king's side 19…fxg4 20 hxg4 Rcf8 21 Qd3! Rxf3 22 Qh7+ Kf7 23 Bg6+ Kh6 24 Bh5! 1-0 After four rounds of the 12 in the double-round Stavanger tournament, Carlsen (Norway) leads with 8pts over Caruana (US) with 7, then Nakamura (US) on 5.5, Erigaisi and Gukesh (India) both on 4.5 and Wei (China) on 4. Norway's special scoring system is three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a replay loss. Draws are played under Armageddon rules which allow for replayed games. Advertisement After two frustrating days where his skills were tested, Carlsen finally got back on track with his second win of the event, a hard-fought marathon against Erigaisi which was technically easier than it looked. Carlsen's king gradually infiltrated into the central squares to support the Norwegian's passed pawn in a queen and pawn ending. Queen and pawn against queen would probably be the epitome of Carlsen's trademark grinding style. After Friday's rest day, the top pairing for the tournament on Saturday will be Caruana v Carlsen, a 2018 world title rematch and also a meeting of the top two at Stavanger. The England and British Championships, World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships are all coming up in the next few weeks, so it will be an important time for young English talents. The soundest approach is the most stable: to aim for consistent results and high percentages rather than conjuring up dreams of instant glory. A 2300 rating is one of the most reliable landmarks displaying how a player acts under pressure and whether he or she can handle constant competition. 3974 1 Qb3+! and 2 c4! surprisingly traps White's queen.
Los Angeles Times
27-05-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Ricky Gervais can offend you to death. He knows you'll still laugh. ‘It's a magic trick, it is a formula'
Ricky Gervais is living his best life right now. Even when he's busy talking about death. On Saturday his new tour, Mortality, arrives at the Hollywood Bowl, where thousands will hear him tackle hilariously macabre commentary about life — and the end of it — through his signature blend of dark humor, empathy and razor-sharp commentary. His last appearance at the Bowl in 2023 with Armageddon earned him a Guinness World Record for the highest-grossing single stand-up performance — so, no pressure. Gervais is also known for turning awkward pauses and brutal honesty into comedy gold, so it's only fitting that after such a long career full of accolades that he would also finally earn a coveted spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday. As Hollywood honors the man who's roasted its elite with such precision, to be roasted for eternity by the Hollywood sun sounds fitting. It's not all about receiving: Giving back matters to Gervais and he's doing that by helping spotlight the next wave of comedic talent through the Spirit of Comedy — a U.K. stand-up contest presented by Dutch Barn Vodka, which he happens to co-own. With a star on the Walk of Fame, a massive show at the Bowl, and a platform for rising comics, Gervais is fully owning his Hollywood moment. But he needs to be home by 6 p.m. You've spent your career pushing comedy boundaries, has there ever been a moment where you thought, 'Oh yeah, I'm going to have to defend this one?' Oh no, it all comes and goes. It's cyclic. People get nervous and that's just always been there from day one. People get worried and then I say, well, this is why it's OK. Sometimes it's an executive producer or a broadcaster who just wants some ammunition to defend it. Because sometimes, they don't know whether it's OK or not, they just don't want to get complaints. If I can go 'listen, this is why it's OK,' then they often trust me because I can defend it. It's not me sitting in the room going, 'what's the most offensive thing I could say to get the BBC burned down?' There's always a point to it. Offense often comes from people mistaking the subject of a joke with the actual target, and they're not usually the same. It sometimes feels like comedians, whose job it is to joke, are being held to a higher standard when it comes to what is 'offensive.' We're human, so we react to buzzwords and we're cautious of taboo subjects. That's why they're still taboo, because we're cautious of them. I do that on purpose as well, particularly with my stand-up where I talk about contentious issues and taboo subjects because I do want to take the audience to a place they haven't been before. I do want them to reflect on it, worry about it, think about it and then, I've got to misdirect them. It's like I take them by the hand through a scary forest but it's OK because they always laugh. If I were going out there and saying things that were really offensive, and no one was laughing, well, that would be odd. That's what politicians do. Politicians say awful things and they mean it, and no one laughs. Comedians say things they don't mean, everyone laughs and they get the same treatment. But you have to have free speech, and there's nothing you could say that someone somewhere won't be offended by. It's impossible so you shouldn't even try. I don't go out there and try to ruin the audience's evening, I go out there and I make a joke and it's crafted. We're human though and we take things personally, but you shouldn't because I think comedy is best as an intellectual pursuit. 'Comedy is best as an intellectual pursuit' sums you up because you're not careless. There's a formula to it all. Exactly. You should go 'well, that's a bad subject and I don't agree with the punchline, but does it work comedically?' It's a magic trick. It is a formula. You can't argue with chemistry. No one goes, well, I know I laughed, but I don't agree with it. Well, it did what it does. That's the joke and I'm not gonna change the joke or meaning. I think the only form of censorship, as an audience, is your right not to listen. You just don't have to watch. You can leave, not buy my stuff, not buy my tickets, and that's absolutely fine. You can turn your own TV off, but what you can't do is make other people turn their TV off. That's the difference. And then, people will complain about something you're doing in the privacy of your own home, even if they have to go up to their attic and stand on a stepladder and look through binoculars to see it. They will find it. People sometimes seek out the offense and that's actually where people can get addicted to being offended. They like it, it makes them feel alive. The news even picks up Twitter! They say, 'Oh, fans weren't happy!' Three fans weren't happy. Tweets making headlines is why we can't have nice things. I wanted to ask about the Spirit of Comedy contest, where the winner gets to open for you at OVO Arena Wembley. How did all of this happen? I know, it's mad! I've never done anything like this before and I've turned down loads of things, but this co-ownership with [the show's sponsor] Dutch Barn Vodka is different. When we met, we first bonded about the company being really ethical. It was sustainable, it was recyclable, they used British apples, they were vegan, they paid their workers really well—they were really trying to be good, and I like that. They said they wanted me to make it famous, make it a global brand, and that I could do the advertising, which really interested me. I do all of my own trailers, I write all my own stuff, so that was exciting creatively. What a great nut to crack. The business side of it sort of came last, but it all made sense too. The main thing about it was I felt I could sleep at night, and I could still have fun. That's all I really cared about. The contest was actually all Dutch Barn's idea and when they were asked about the contest they said something like, 'Well, we know Ricky's not going to last forever.' Maybe they're finding my replacement? How cruel and ironic would that be? Well, at least you can go down knowing you broke a record at the Hollywood Bowl. Yes! It was two years ago, and I just put out a tweet because it broke the record for a single gig. I don't know why I'm doing it again. I did it once, it was frightening, I broke the world record and it was great. Why would I do it again? Because we love you in L.A. and it's been too long. That's why. I haven't been avoiding it, it's just a long way so I try to do as much as I can while I'm there. I sort of work out of London now and also, it gets harder with jet lag. I'm 63! Jet lag lasts about a week now! Everything is worse, isn't it? I'm offered really cool things every day, flying around the world and I just think, is it better than me sitting on the couch with my cat and my girlfriend watching Netflix? No. It has nothing to do with anything else other than how valuable your time is and how you wanna spend it. Is that why you named your tour 'Mortality'? Are you planning? Sort of. There's a joke in there where I sort of talk about getting old, looking back and all the things that are going wrong which are funny. The reason I started doing one word, sort of academic-style titles, was that I was sarcastically making fun of the pomposity of some comedians who think they're doing lectures. That's where it started when I was pricking that bubble of comedians who think they're changing the world. I've kept up the one-word thing, but also, mortality, it's a scary subject so already the audience is going, is Mortality gonna be funny? Yeah, it's funny! I'm the one dying. Sit back and laugh. From sitting to kneeling, it's fitting — and a bit ironic — that someone who roasted Hollywood so memorably is now being cemented into its history with a star on the Walk of Fame. Well, that's funny because the first time they told me I got it I said, 'Oh? Do I have to get down on all fours on the concrete? I'll never get up! I've also got bad skin!' I had all of those thoughts, but I'm doing it the day before the Hollywood Bowl so I can kill two birds with one stone. It's all about getting home on the couch by 6 p.m. This life, you know what I mean? You started kind of late, but you did earn this comfortable life. And maybe 6 p.m. is the new midnight. When I grew up, I was good at school, I went to college, then I was a failed pop star, and I never had money. Really, I never had any money. I think I was about 37 years old when I started doing this, and I just grabbed a hold of it. I thought, this is a really lucky second bite of the cherry. You better not screw this one up. So, I did work really hard, but in saying that, what does this sound like? 'I work really hard in a room writing while drinking cappuccino.' Some people are hiding behind a wall getting shot at! My dad was a laborer for 60 years! It's funny to say that, because now, I'm glad I was born poor. It's not something that I talk about much, but I am sort of proud of myself. I didn't have a penny, and no one gave me anything. It might be luck, but I still feel like I beat the system.
