
The team behind ‘Deaf President Now!' explains how they documented a landmark moment in Deaf history
The filmmakers and participants of 'Deaf President Now!' talks to Los Angeles Times editor Matt Brennan about the film, deaf issues and how they are working to make lives better for their community while at the L.A. Times Studios @ Sundance Film Festival presented by Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Russell Simmons sues HBO for $20 million over doc alleging sexual misconduct
NEW YORK — Russell Simmons has filed a lawsuit against HBO and the makers of the 2020 documentary 'On the Record,' claiming defamation for their allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. The record executive, who's seeking $20 million in damages, is also accusing them of ignoring or suppressing evidence from witnesses who 'refuted and rebutted the accusations falsely made' against Simmons, according to lawsuit filed in New York. 'Despite voluminous support for Mr. Simmons in the form of credible information, persuasive evidence, witness statements and calls for further investigation by notable members of the media, politics and the civil rights movement, the defendants simply disregarded it, and released, and continue to re-release globally, a film that tremendously disparaged and damaged Mr. Simmons with salacious and defamatory accusations that he vehemently denies,' his attorneys, Imran Ansari and Carla DiMare, said in a written statement to Variety. In the complaint, Ansari claims the streamer ignored multiple polygraph tests that 'would have been discovered with due diligence and adherence to accepted journalistic standards.' The documentary made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2020 and detailed sexual assault and misconduct allegations against the Def Jam Records founder from multiple women. The project was originally to be produced as a part of Oprah Winfrey's deal with Apple TV, but the media mogul later withdrew from the film and it ultimately landed at HBO Max. Along with the $20 million, Simmons is requesting a court order to have the title removed from all of HBO's platforms. Simmons has faced multiple lawsuits accusing him of misconduct. More than 20 women have come forward alleging sexual assault, many of whom participated in the documentary. A spokesperson for Warner Bros., the parent of HBO, told TMZ the company 'stand[s] by the filmmakers and their process, and will vigorously defend ourselves against these unfounded allegations.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'I started crying': A robotic Walt Disney has been denounced by his granddaughter
The urban legend goes that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen to one day be brought back to life. While there's never been any truth to that, the pioneering American animator has, in-sort, been revived - as a robot. To celebrate Disneyland California's 70th anniversary in July, the theme park recently unveiled an animatronic replica of their founder. Disney's granddaughter, Joanna Miller, has denounced the creation - calling it "dehumanizing". In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Miller expressed her hurt upon seeing the mechanical figure: 'I think I started crying,' she said. 'It didn't look like him to me.' When the project was first announced last year, Miller voiced her concerns in a letter to Disney's CEO, Bob Iger, later meeting with him and some of the members involved in the attraction's creation. Miller told Iger she strongly felt that, for visitors, 'the last two minutes with the robot will do much more harm than good to Grampa's legacy,' adding that people would 'remember the robot - and not the man.' While Iger was reportedly 'very kind', her pleas for the robot to be scrapped were ultimately ignored. Miller also spoke out in a Facebook post last November, calling the idea of a 'Robotic Grampa' a disservice to the real Disney, who once loved to greet the park's visitors in person. 'You could never get the casualness of his talking, interacting with the camera, [or] his excitement to show and tell people about what is new at the park,' Miller wrote. 'You cannot add life to one empty of a soul or essence of the man.' Miller made it clear to The LA Times that she was speaking on behalf of her mother and grandfather, noting that it 'pains' her to be speaking out against his company. 'When you get older, you just start to get pissed off. And you get tired of being quiet. So I spoke up on Facebook,' she said. 'The fact that it got back to the company is pretty funny.' The Audio-Animatronics figure is due to debut in a new show titled 'Walt Disney – A Magical Life', which will open on 17 July 2025. 'Creating our first Walt figure is an idea that's been whispered in the hallowed halls of Imagineering for years – decades, even,' Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro said during a company showcase. 'We just had to wait for innovation to catch up with our dreams. And we're finally ready,' he added. A Disney press release explains how Disney's Imagineers - the creative minds behind Disney park attractions - had 'worked closely with the Walt Disney Archives to ensure we had the details as accurate as possible.' As technology and, in particular, artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced, companies are increasingly experimenting with ways to bring back the dead. Last year, a film producer sued Disney for digitally recreating the late actor Peter Cushing's appearance in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope for 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Previously, Disney used CGI and unused footage to resurrect actress Carrie Fisher for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, while the voice of James Earl Jones, who played iconic baddie Darth Vader and died last year, was artificially repurposed for the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi. While sometimes agreed upon by the actors themselves or their estates, any artificial recreations remain highly controversial as people become increasingly wary of technology trying to imitate and dehumanise art. Meanwhile, despite the company riding a box office high with Lilo & Stitch - currently the second-highest grossing movie of the year - Disney announced on Tuesday that it is cutting hundreds of jobs worldwide to reduce costs and adapt to evolving industry conditions. '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 said. 'As part of this ongoing work, we have identified opportunities to operate more efficiently and are eliminating a limited number of positions.'


Buzz Feed
3 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
Michelle Obama Reacts To Daughter Malia Dropping Last Name
Kids dropping their famous parents' last names is nothing new in the celebrity world, and Malia Obama, the 26-year-old daughter of Barack and Michelle Obama, is among those who have made the move. For some context, Malia premiered her directorial debut, The Heart, at the Sundance Film Festival last year. She wrote and directed the 18-minute short film and made the notable decision to submit it and credit herself all under the name Malia Ann. Ann is Malia's middle name. For the record, it doesn't seem like she has filed to legally change her name, and there's currently no indication to suggest she will. And while other celeb kid name-changes might be linked to family conflicts or fractured relationships, it sounds like Malia's decision to leave off 'Obama' has more to do with her professional life than anything else. Speaking on Kate and Oliver Hudson's Sibling Revelry podcast on Monday, the former first lady opened up about how Malia and her soon-to-be 24-year-old sister, Sasha, are trying to 'distinguish' themselves as young adults. 'I mean, it is very important for my kids to feel like they've earned what they are getting in the world, and they don't want people to assume that they don't work hard, that they're just naturally, just handed things,' she said. 'They're very sensitive to that — they want to be their own people.' Discussing the name-change specifically, Michelle said that she and Barack were slightly skeptical of the move initially. 'Her first project — she took off her last name, and we were like, 'They're still going to know it's you, Malia,'' she said. 'But we respected the fact that she's trying to make her way.' Speaking more about her grown-up girls, who've remained very private since their family bid goodbye to the White House in 2017, Michelle said: 'As they're older, I think they are embracing our parenting principles. They have a clearer understanding of why we did a lot of what we did. They understand us as full human beings now, in the same way that I think I discovered that about my parents when I went away to college.' Notably, Barack echoed similar thoughts about the name-change when discussing Malia's decision not to credit herself as an Obama at Sundance. ''You do know they'll know who you are,'' he recalled telling his daughter during an appearance on The Pivot podcast in October. 'And she's all like, 'You know what? I want them to watch it that first time and not in any way have that association [with the Obama last name].'' 'So I think our daughters go out of their way to not try to leverage that,' he concluded. And you know what, good for them! You can find Michelle and her brother Craig's full appearance on the Sibling Revelry podcast here.