‘Arcane' writer Amanda Overton describes reworking the end of season one so that a second season could be allowed to develop
Arcane, which can be streamed on Netflix, takes place in the universe of the online multiplayer battle video game League of Legends. The show centers around two cities: the prosperous and ideal city of Piltover and the dilapidated and sleazy undercity of Zaun. As the disturbance between the two places gets more heated, sisters Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell) begin becoming aligned on opposing sides of a looming war over differing beliefs and mysterious occurrences. The series picked up the Emmy for Best Animated Program for its first season back in 2022.
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The writer's room always knew from the beginning that they wanted the relationship between Vi and Caitlyn to be their OTP (one true pair) couple for the series. But Overton wanted to draw out the establishment of their romantic attraction to make their romance epic. 'You really have to earn that relationship getting together. I think we did things in season one to make that attraction they had to each other explicit. We made that conscious choice to take the entire series as we knew it to get them together so we could feel like they had the same sort of treatment that most couples like that would get.'
One of the more difficult things in developing the show was keeping track of all the world-building that a series like this requires. 'It's a huge scope game and it's a game that changes all the time. It's kind of like they're always iterating on the game. It's not just one set story. It's something you always have to keep your pulse on in order to make sure that what they're doing in the game would reflect properly in the show.'
This article and video are presented by Netflix.
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
‘Real-life Happy Gilmore': Meet the hockey player who inspired the Adam Sandler movies
One day, in early 1995, Kyle McDonough had a catch-up conversation with an old buddy. A star center for the University of Vermont hockey team from 1985-89, McDonough was establishing himself as one of the best players in Norway's top professional league at the time. On the other side of an ocean, the friend was making waves in his own line of work and wanted to share some good news. Advertisement 'Remember that movie that we talked about?' Adam Sandler asked McDonough. 'We're filming it.' Set to shoot in Vancouver that summer, the project starred Sandler as a washed-out hockey player who becomes a world-class golfer after learning that his lone on-ice skill — a booming slap shot — translates to the tee box. It wasn't a huge commercial success upon its February 1996 release, grossing less than $40 million in North American theaters. But 'Happy Gilmore' proved pivotal for Sandler on his path to becoming one of the most bankable, beloved presences in comedic history, starring in projects that earned more than $3 billion at worldwide box offices and signing a recent Netflix deal worth $250 million for four films — including the hotly anticipated 'Happy Gilmore 2,' which debuted last week. And it all might have never happened without the elementary school classmate from New Hampshire known to Sandler as simply 'McD,' the guy who inspired the original 'Happy Gilmore' on a Manchester driving range some five decades ago and remains a close friend. 'You got to talk to Kyle McDonough?' Sandler said at the start of a conversation with The Athletic, a day before the sequel's release. 'The best. The king.' McDonough and Sandler first met in the early 1970s, when Sandler's family moved from New York to Manchester. Sandler was 5, McDonough was six months older. They were tight from the jump; McDonough and another friend, Sandler said, walked him to school each day 'just so I could feel comfortable.' That scored McDonough major points with Sandler's mother, Judy. '(McDonough) was talked about in my house like (he) raised me,' Sandler said. McDonough came from a family of athletes: Older brother Hubie wound up playing 195 NHL games for the Kings, Islanders and Sharks. Their father, also named Hubie, 'was a coach of everything,' Kyle said. Advertisement The family, Sandler said, would drive around Manchester in an old Volkswagen bus filled with sports equipment for seemingly every occasion — and it showed. 'Any sport we did, Kyle became better than everybody,' Sandler said. 'Best baseball player. Best football player when we were screwing around. Best hockey player by far. Could do the most chin-ups. Could do the most push-ups. Was jacked when he was 8. 'He was just the biggest stud and the nicest, humblest guy in the neighborhood. … My family loved Kyle's family. The whole family loved him.' Nobody liked Kyle more than Stan Sandler. When Adam was about 12, a conversation between father and son turned into a discussion about the latter's future. 'I go, 'I dunno Dad, I was thinking maybe a pro baseball player,'' Sandler said. 'And he goes '…Nah. That's not gonna happen. You're too slow. It could happen for Kyle McDonough, though.' 'I was like, 'Yeah, I know (that) could happen. Maybe for the both of us, man.' ''Nah. Just Kyle.'' It made sense, then, that McDonough was invited along for one of the Sandlers' early trips to the local driving range when Stan was just starting to get into golf. The first time McDonough stepped to the tee, to hear Sandler tell the story, was all it took for the seed of a movie premise to plant itself. 'He was hitting them as a young kid far enough for everybody at the range to turn their heads and go, 'What's he doing that I'm not doing?'' Sandler said. Stan Sandler's hypothesis, both that day and as the years went on, was that McDonough's hockey skill and muscles — especially in his wrists — helped him immediately thrive with a club instead of a stick. McDonough continued golfing with the Sandlers. After losing his own driver, he once even borrowed Stan's for a long-shot competition … and won. But his legacy in the sport was cemented years later, when Sandler reached into their shared past and began crafting a script about a hockey player with preternatural driving talents. 'It's a great story,' said Tim Herlihy, Sandler's longtime writing partner. 'It's great that there's a real-life Happy Gilmore.' By 1994, Sandler was acting as a regular cast member on 'Saturday Night Live' and already working with Herlihy on a second movie — even before their first, 'Billy Madison,' had been released. If Sandler's pivot from television sketch comedy to feature films was going to happen, it needed to be then. Advertisement 'They probably wouldn't have let us make another movie if we waited until 'Billy' came out to start 'Happy,'' Herlihy said. 'We needed to come up with an idea for a movie and we had nothing. So (Sandler) said, 'I actually went golfing with Kyle McDonough once. And he was whacking it. It was his first time ever playing, and he was hitting it farther than me. What about a hockey player in the golf world?' 'And that was it. It was right there.' Herlihy, of course, had already heard the lore about the McDonough brothers — he and Sandler roomed together at NYU, an easy drive for some of the latter's New Hampshire buddies. 'They drank the town dry,' Herlihy said. 'But they talked about Kyle and Hubie like they were the superstars of Manchester. These guys were just legendary.' Premiering in summer 1995, 'Billy Madison' underwhelmed at the box office and with critics. But 'Happy Gilmore' was far enough along for Sandler to break the news to McDonough. The film was shot in British Columbia, and McDonough made the trip. He spent a week watching Sandler on set and crashing with him at his hotel. 'I'm going, 'I guess this is really happening',' McDonough said. The movie went on to significantly out-earn its $12 million budget, guaranteeing Sandler and Herlihy more work. Over time, cable channels and DVD sales have turned 'Happy Gilmore' into one of the most beloved comedies of its time — and made the name synonymous with a rage-case, alligator-wrestling golfer who takes a running start on his tee shots and winds up as if preparing to hit a one-timer on the ice. But the real-life and fictional Happy Gilmores are far from perfect analogues. McDonough's hockey resume is proof. At Vermont, he led the Catamounts in scoring three out of four seasons; helped the Division 1 program make the NCAA Tournament for the first time; and earned All-American honors as a senior. Only five players in program history have logged more career points, and one is Hockey Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis. Advertisement Given McDonough's temperament – humble and mild-mannered, a coach's son – some tweaks were necessary for comedy's sake. Sandler pulled from the other hockey players he grew up with in Manchester. 'They were brawlers and ready to go and could knock back drinks, and I thought it would be funny to see that style of a guy on tour with the other dudes,' Sandler said. 'I thought the reason my guy could play was because he bangs them so long that he had an advantage. 'And that was Kyle. His first hit was always 80 yards longer than anyone else.' They also decided to play up what Herlihy called 'the blunt instrument of the temper issue,' which came naturally to Sandler. McDonough, on the other hand, never fought a coach at tryouts: 'I got cut (from a team), but not like that,' he said. Nor did he ever take off his skate and try to stab someone with it. 'We have to draw the line somewhere,' he said. Sandler's knock-kneed skating on camera was another differentiation point. 'God, that was hard to watch,' McDonough said.' I tell everyone, '(Sandler) took poetic license with that.'' Asked to scout himself as a hockey player, McDonough, who was listed at 5-feet-9 in college, showed some of the humility that Sandler mentioned. 'He's quicker than he is fast. He'll beat you to that puck right there, but down the ice, it's not gonna happen. He skates a little funny,' McDonough said. McDonough wound up playing overseas for 13 years. He piled up points across Europe — Denmark, Scotland, Sweden — but made his biggest mark with Frisk Asker in Norway's top league, scoring 33 or more goals in three of his six seasons there and leading the franchise to a championship in 2001-02 before retiring. The closest he came to Gilmore as a hockey player, McDonough said, was during one of those Norway seasons when he led the league in penalties. Naturally, he also won its scoring title. Every year, his students sniff out the Sandler connection. Typically, it doesn't happen until after Christmas. Then someone lands on the correct search results, or sifts through the entirety of the DVD special features on YouTube. And the whispers begin. For his part, McDonough leans in. Now a high school social studies teacher in Manchester, he appreciates the cachet — even if he refuses to directly answer their questions. Advertisement '(I) kind of play it off. I'll deny it,' McDonough said. 'They know that (Sandler) came from here, so it's plausible. All I say is, 'Someone had to go to first grade with him, right?'' Nearly 30 years after Happy Gilmore sank a circus shot with a hockey stick putter to win the gold jacket at the Tour Championship in the original movie, the sequel features a stronger hockey presence. Retired NHLers Sean Avery and Chris Chelios play a pair of bodyguards, credited as Henchman No. 1 and Henchman No. 2. Happy has four sons — all hockey players. He golfs in updated Bruins gear on the screen and, in character at last month's NHL Draft, announced Boston's first-round pick. That player, James Hagens, later met Sandler at the New York premiere of 'Happy Gilmore 2.' The movie also attracted extra attention for its sheer tonnage of celebrity cameos and family-reunion vibes. Bad Bunny is Happy's caddie! John Daly lives in Happy's garage! Travis Kelce gets (redacted) by a (redacted)! Sandler's daughters! Herlihy's son! All pop up, in some fashion. So does McDonough, who made the final cut as a caddie for Charles Howell III. He attended the premiere, too, where he was particularly excited to talk to Judy Sandler. Stan Sandler passed away in 2003 at 68, three years after Sandler released a spoken comedy album called 'Stan and Judy's Kid.' 'I hate to say it, it's so cliché: (Sandler) is one of the guys,' McDonough said. 'I've never been with him where he said no to a picture. And it's everywhere. It's constant. It's so unbelievable. How he's stayed like he is, is just baffling. It comes back to Stan and Judy.' Given the sequel's summer publicity rounds — Sandler mentioned McDonough's name on the Kelce brothers' podcast, for one — the whispers around the real-life Happy Gilmore might start earlier than normal when school begins on Sept. 5. Another recent development for McDonough: After more than 20 years on the bench, including for his former high school and current employer at Manchester Memorial, he's done as a hockey coach. Now, he coaches golf. (Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; Archive Photos / Getty)
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hosting tips we've learned from the royals
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. If there's one thing the royals know how to do well, it's marking an occasion. From lavish gala dinners to ceremonies upholding centuries-old traditions, events attended by - as well as those organized by - the British Royal Family are usually an elaborate affair. With the Royal Family's lives very much in the public eye, we've managed to learn a few hosting tips along the way, from how to hold a teacup in public to, most recently, stylish presentation tips from Meghan Markle's Netflix documentary, With Love, Meghan. Here are hosting tips we've learned from the royals covering how to greet guests in a regal style at a dinner party, invitations, menus, and table manners. As well as some tips on how to elevate simple dishes and make welcome drinks feel personal and unique. In other words, everything you need to bear in mind while hosting a dinner party fit for royalty. During her hit Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, Meghan Markle (or Sussex, as she corrects one guest in the show) says one of the most important parts of hosting is to ensure guests have something to snack on as soon as they arrive. "Never let a guest arrive without something to feed them on the table," she advises viewers while explaining her love of crudités platters. Another of Meghan's clear priorities when she has guests round is to ensure she's seen to be on top of her housework, as well as her cooking skills. She says when awaiting an LA chef for dinner in an episode of With Love, Meghan, "I need to impress this man! Not just with my doughnuts - with my tidiness, with my kitchen savvy, my cleanliness." A quick cleaning session after each task makes cooking and baking a lot less of a messy job. Meghan explains in an episode of With Love, Meghan, "So, just as with cooking, I will always have like a garbage vessel. "Everything stays organised, clean as you go," Meghan explained. "Lili has made a song out of it," she said, before singing herself: "Clean as you go – clean, clean, clean, clean." Lady Elizabeth Anson, a royal party planner who has worked with the British Royal Family (and is a first cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II and a niece of the late Queen Mother), told the New York Times, "Lady Elizabeth uses high-end e-vite service Paperless Post. But clarified that wherever possible, it's best to send a physical invite and put some time and effort into it, as cheap invites make people "imagine there's going to be acidic wine and miserable food". Windsor and royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams has previously revealed exactly how the royals drink their tea, according to reporting from Reader's Digest. "The royals love their tea time, so it's especially important that they hold their cups correctly," he explains. "You pinch the handle with your thumb and index finger, so they meet in the middle rather than looping through the handle. Every time you drink, you look into the cup to show control and make sure the tea doesn't go all over. Kate does this very well.' Fresh flowers will always instantly brighten up a dinner space. Meghan revealed in an episode of With Love, Meghan, "First thing I do is see what colour I gravitate to, and then everything goes from there. "Kind of think about it like an outfit, and once you pick the base look, you have to accessorise in a way that makes sense and matches." "The Duchess of Cambridge is known to be an excellent hostess," Myka Meier, the founder of Beaumont Etiquette, told Woman's Day. "She loves to cook, host, and is known to personally serve her guests. "While she may love to throw a party, Catherine also must be the perfect guest, as she attends many parties annually, personally and professionally, and spends long weekends with the royal family or Christmas lunch as a guest of the Queen at the Sandringham Estate." "If you have nine guests, you should serve a selection of at least three foods," explains Myka Meier, the founder of Beaumont Etiquette, when advising on royal hosting. "Include a vegetarian option, and make them small enough to eat in one bite. Serve with cocktail napkins and offer toothpicks for oily foods. (Nobody wants to shake hands with greasy fingers.)" Meghan's one-pot pasta dish had mixed reviews online after With Love, Meghan aired, but her guest and long-time friend, make-up artist Daniel, had only good things to say about this easy-to-prepare dish. "This is literally cosy," Daniel said in appreciation. Meghan explained to viewers how she often opts for a one-pot dinner to save on prep and washing up. This is something that Kate Middleton is thought to be extremely good at. "As the host, your job is to speak to and engage each of your guests, making sure everyone is happy, comfortable, and feels welcome," says Myka Meier, the founder of Beaumont Etiquette. One of Meghan's dinner party tricks was to personalise her margaritas according to her guests' likes and dislikes. In With Love, Meghan, she made a margarita base and then different syrups for each guest, including a spicy mix for those who like a little heat with their cocktail. Personalized labels also add a thoughtful touch. "When it comes to banquets, all the menus are traditionally written in French, even if they're describing English dishes; that's just the way it's done," Tom Parker Bowles told Harper's Bazaar. "Happily, the Queen speaks flawless French, and she has the most incredible memory, so she remembers what every single guest likes and doesn't like." Make sure you're clear on what you're serving guests and feeling organised before a dinner party, if you want to host like a royal. 'She's [Queen Elizabeth II] intricately involved in what's on each menu, which is important if you're hosting the president of France or Japan,' Tom Parker Bowles told Harper's Bazaar. In With Love, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, focuses on presentation a lot, using simple adjustments to make her dishes look more attractive. For example, on her crudité platter, she artfully arranges peas still in their pods, prompting her guest to say, "Why doesn't anyone ever present peas like this?!" There's no need to overcomplicate things. "A party with good table wine and good pasta or good sausages and mash can be just as much of a success as one with Krug, caviar, oysters and lobster,' party planner Lady Elizabeth told the New York Times. 'It's not about expensive ingredients. It's about people." "Typically, ' the Duchess Slant' is used when a lady has to sit for an extended amount of time while keeping poise and posture," says Myka Meier, the founder of Beaumont Etiquette. This is seen as a more elegant way to sit on a sofa or chair, perhaps during a drinks reception before dinner, and you'll notice it's a familiar posture for all the royal women. Holding a glass by its stem rather than the bottom will prevent heating the liquid, and you'll often see the royals adhering to this rule. When serving, remember that wine should typically be poured only to just below the widest part of the glass, according to traditional rules of etiquette. Another thing we learned from With Love, Meghan is that the Duchess really likes edible flowers - she sprinkles them everywhere. While the merits of doing so on one's own breakfast may be more questionable, when it comes to a finishing touch for a dessert on a fruity cocktail, they look stylish and sweet, particularly in the summer months. Dehydrated fruits were also popular with the Duchess during the first season of With Love, Meghan. This timeless garnish will instantly elevate a drink and can be easily made at home using an air fryer or by slowly heating slices in the oven on a low setting. Try lemon, lime, grapefruit or orange, depending on the notes in the cocktail. This is a big one for the Royal Family - they're always extremely discreet. When royals need to use the restroom, they won't announce the details and instead will excuse themselves quietly. 'When they get up, they cross their knife and fork so waitstaff know they'll continue to eat when they come back,' royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams explains regarding how the royals break away from the table at a dinner event. Windsor and royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams advises a modest dress code if you want to make like a royal at a dinner party. "The outfit has to be modest, elegant, and appropriate for the occasion, and it should never distract from the royal's role or risk causing a scandal or public debate,' he told Reader's Digest. A firm, assertive handshake is typical among members of the Royal Family. 'The handshake should be firm. The thumb goes up, the fingers [go] together, shake for two pumps," advises royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams when it comes to greeting guests. Another fun presentation hack picked up from With Love, Meghan, is creating signature ice cubes with flowers or fruit. However, she advises against using tap water. "I've made this mistake. Do not just use tap water," she said. "Otherwise, the ice cubes just come out a little cloudy, and you want to see the flower." A royal bathroom will be well thought out, but it won't have candles or reed diffusers, Myka Meier, the founder of Beaumont Etiquette, explains. "The Duchess [Catherine] will also probably have lightly scented soap and paired hand cream. Many upper-class British homes prefer bar soap to liquid, so the Duchess may use that in her private quarters." Food writer and critic (and the Duchess of Cornwall's son!) Tom Parker Bowles previously told Harper's Bazaar, "Everything I've learnt about the Queen's preferences is from Mark Flanagan, the personal chef to the Queen. She likes seasonal ingredients - asparagus, lamb - and food from the estate, such as grouse or venison from Balmoral. 'She'll have pheasants from Sandringham (in season from October to February), and she even has her own cheese made using milk from the cows at the royal dairy in Windsor.' A cake makes a beautiful centre piece if having guests over for a special occasion, and according to Meghan Markle in With Love, Meghan, a naked cake is best. While baking in the Netflix show, she said about the cake she's made: "There's something really satisfying about a cake that is bare on the outside but she is so beautiful on the inside and you just don't know how good she is until you go deep and you get to know her better." Duchess Meghan loves a fruit or veggie platter. "We have a veggie platter, crudites, every day in our house,' she said in the Netflix show, With Love, Meghan. "Even for our kids, I think what's been so nice and why they love eating vegetables is because it looks colourful and fun." Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Netflix Forges Groundbreaking Bundling Deal With Top Middle East Broadcaster MBC Group
Top Middle East broadcaster MBC Group has forged a groundbreaking partnership with Netflix under which the U.S. streaming giant will play alongside its Shahid streamer on MBC's recently launched MBCNOW entertainment content aggregator. The newly created bundle will combine Netflix and Shahid in addition to MBC's linear TV channels, under one single subscription. More from Variety Adam Sandler Remembers Cameron Boyce In Subtle 'Happy Gilmore 2' Tribute Netflix Adapts Hit Korean Reality Show 'Physical 100' in Italy Film and TV Help Drive Madrid's GDP, Economic Growth as They Consolidate as Strategic Priorities for the Region This first-of-this-kind partnership for Netflix in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) follows similar carriage deals recently struck between major TV networks in Europe and streaming services, starting with Netflix and French broadcaster TF1 and followed by Prime Video and France Televisions, which is another French broadcaster, and by Disney+ and Britain's ITV in the U.K. As of December 2024 Shahid – which is the MENA region's top streamer – had 4.4 million subscribers, while Netflix had 3 million subs, according to the most recent figures from global analyst Omdia. 'This groundbreaking partnership is one for the books,' said Fadel Zahreddine, group director of emerging media at MBC GROUP is a statement. 'To have two streaming giants – Shahid and Netflix – come together under one platform is something never seen before in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and wider MENA, and we're very excited for what's to come,' the executive added. 'This is definitely the future of streaming and content consumption,' noted Bhanu Chaddha, MBC Group's director of distribution and TV products. Commented Mohammed Al Kuraishi, head of business development and partnerships, Middle East and Africa at Netflix: 'We're thrilled to have MBC Group join forces with Netflix to bring its content to our audiences under the convenience of a single subscription.' The MBC/Netflix bundle combines Shahid's vast library of Arabic TV shows, films, and documentaries – including a substantial number of original productions – along with Netflix's full catalogue. The bundle will give customers 'a saving of more than or 21% compared to individual subscriptions,' according to the statement. Streaming is booming across the MENA region, where the OTT subscription video market, led by MBC's Shahid, generated revenues estimated at $1.2 billion in 2024, according to Omdia, which projects continued MENA market growth. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? Final Emmy Predictions: Talk Series and Scripted Variety - New Blood Looks to Tackle Late Night Staples
