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New York Post
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Heather Graham, 55, confesses she's ‘glad' she never had children: ‘I feel free'
Heather Graham has confessed she's 'glad' she didn't have children — '80% of the time.' The 'Boogie Nights Star,' 55, reflected on her decision to avoid motherhood in an interview with The Guardian published Monday. 'I think I've had moments where I wondered: what would it have been like if I had a kid? I guess I would say 80% of the time I feel glad I don't have kids, and I feel free and really good about it, and maybe 20% of the time I wonder what would it be like. You just have to appreciate the life you have,' Graham revealed. 8 Heather Graham has confessed she's 'glad' she didn't have children — at least '80% of the time.' Kristin Callahan/ACE PICTURES/ 'I do think it's awesome now that more women are expressing their desire to not have kids,' she continued. 'The culture says: 'You need to have kids.' But why? If you're not being a people pleaser, what do you really want?' Graham — who wrote, directed and starred in her latest movie, 'Chosen Family' — admitted that she was a 'people pleaser' almost all of her life and that it wasn't until she was in her 40s that she began to shift her approach to life and relationships. 8 'I guess I would say 80% of the time I feel glad I don't have kids, and I feel free and really good about it, and maybe 20% of the time I wonder what would it be like. You just have to appreciate the life you have,' said Graham. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP 8 'I do think it's awesome now that more women are expressing their desire to not have kids,' continued Graham. Venezia2020/IPA / 'I realized, no, actually I can just ask myself, 'What do I want?' and make myself happy,' the 'Place of Bones' actress confessed. Graham's desire to overcome people-pleasing seems to have motivated her to cut off all ties with her parents and her sister (actress Aimee Graham) when she was in her mid-20s. 'I think I felt, as a younger person, that I couldn't really set boundaries with them that they would respect, so I wanted to explore that in the movie,' she said of 'Chosen Family.' 8 Graham — seen here in a March 2025 Instagram post — said of motherhood: 'The culture says: 'You need to have kids.' But why? If you're not being a people pleaser, what do you really want?' Heather Graham / Instagram 8 Graham — who wrote, directed and starred in her latest movie, 'Chosen Family' — admitted that she was a 'people pleaser' almost all of her life, and that it wasn't until she was in her 40s that she began to shift her approach to life and relationships. Heather Graham / Instagram 8 'I realized, no, actually I can just ask myself, 'What do I want?' and make myself happy,' the 'Place of Bones' actress confessed. Heather Graham / Instagram The 'Austin Powers' star also shared that her parents prevented her from accepting a role in the 1988 dark teen comedy 'Heathers' when she was 17. 'My parents vetoed it,' she revealed. Soon after, she moved out of her parents' house. 'I kind of became my own person and discovered: 'What do I like? What do I want when I'm not under this very judgmental, authoritarian, parental, patriarchal structure? What do I want to do? What do I think of this?'' the actress recalled. 8 The 'Austin Powers' star also shared that her parents prevented her from accepting a role in the 1988 dark teen comedy 'Heathers' when she was 17. Getty Images 8 'My parents vetoed it,' she revealed. Soon after, she moved out of her parents' house. Janet Mayer / 'My father's really religious, and they were, especially my father, very critical of everything I was doing. It didn't feel like a healthy dynamic,' Graham explained. 'I stopped talking to them and, I have to say, that was a huge relief. I felt like, at that moment, my life opened up with a freedom. I didn't need to please them.' While Graham's family has attempted to contact her over the years, she doesn't desire to have a relationship with them. 'There was an effort made, but it was always very judgmental, like: 'Let me give you the number of the priest and you can go to confession,'' Graham explained. 'I just think we're really different. They have a lot of great qualities – it's just not a healthy dynamic for me.'
New York Times
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Mike Myers Is Ready to Defend Canada
As he played a chainsaw-wielding Elon Musk on 'Saturday Night Live' in March, the veteran Canadian comedian Mike Myers was not intending to make a personal political statement. But when he stood onstage for the closing credits of the show, he said, 'I got angrier and angrier.' He thought about Mr. Musk's remark that Canada is 'not a real country,' and about how President Trump had called the former Canadian prime minister 'Governor Trudeau' and rudely referred to Canada as 'the 51st state.' He thought about tariffs, and about graffiti he'd seen in Winnipeg: 'There's no greater pain than being betrayed by a friend.' And he thought about the legendary Canadian hockey player Gordie Howe and his famous 'elbows up' response to aggression on the ice. And so Mr. Myers, the 61-year-old star of the 'Wayne's World,' 'Austin Powers' and 'Shrek' films and a beloved figure on both sides of the Canadian-American border, boldly opened his down vest and flashed his 'Canada Is Not for Sale' T-shirt on live television. 'Elbows up,' he mouthed into the camera, twice. 'What happened came from my ankles and from my brain and from my heart, and it was not about me — it was about my country,' he said. 'I wanted to send a message home to say that I'm with you, you know.' As public acts of defiance on 'S.N.L.' go, the unveiling of Mr. Myers's T-shirt was less shocking than, say, the Irish singer Sinead's O'Connor's dramatic destruction of a photo of Pope John Paul II in 1992. But for the mild-mannered Mr. Myers, an expatriate who said that 'no one is more Canadian than a person who no longer lives in Canada,' it was the moment the gloves came off. 'What's happened has really hurt our feelings,' he said in a recent telephone interview that began when, in what felt like a classically Canadian move, he apologized for having hay fever and perhaps sounding a bit snuffly. 'We love America. We love you guys. We don't understand what this madness is.' Mr. Myers moved to the United States in 1988 because 'America is the entertainment capital of the world' and it was where his career took off, he said. Though he divides his time between New York and Vermont, he said he travels back home to Toronto often. He has an American wife, two American children and an American passport (alongside his Canadian one). 'I am also an American citizen, and I took my oath very seriously,' he said. 'That's what's so crazy. Americans are the last people you would think would ever be a threat to us.' In Canada, Mr. Myers has two streets named after him, appears on a postage stamp and in 2017 was named an officer of the Order of Canada for his work in comedy. He published 'Canada,' a memoir-cum-Valentine to his native country, in 2016. Emboldened by how his 'elbows up' defiance on 'S.N.L.' caught on up north, Mr. Myers plotted an escalation of his political involvement. 'I consulted with my brothers, who are both, obviously, Canadian, as well as being very savvy politically and smart and funny,' he said. The result was a television ad for the Liberal Party, featuring Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mr. Myers — wearing a 'Never 51' jersey — chatting beside a hockey rink. Though the race has been tightening, the Liberals have been buoyed by a surge of anger at Mr. Trump's bellicose behavior, and pollsters say they are favored to defeat the Conservatives in Monday's federal elections. Inspired by 'those World War II movies where they ask the fake Americans who won the World Series' as a way to unmask them, Mr. Myers said, he wanted the ad to be a reaffirmation of his own Canadianness as well as an endorsement of Mr. Carney. 'I wanted it to be like, 'I know I don't live there anymore, and let's talk about that,'' he said. 'I thought it would be funny if the prime minister of Canada ran an identity test on me.' (The part in which Mr. Myers correctly identifies Toronto's 'two seasons' as 'winter and construction' was contributed by Mr. Myers's best friend since childhood, David Mackenzie, he said.) The ad shows that Mr. Carney, in addition to being a former governor of the Bank of England, has fine comic timing. 'I think he's very reasonable,' Mr. Myers said of Mr. Carney. 'He's taken a calm, resolute, articulate stance in defense of our sovereignty.' Mr. Myers was an 'S.N.L.' cast member from 1989 to 1995. He's now appeared three times this season as Mr. Musk, who is originally from South Africa but who was raised in Canada. (At one point, Mr. Myers had Mr. Musk make a classic Dr. Evil pinkie gesture.) 'To the extent that Elon Musk is involved in our democratic government, it goes against how I feel as a Canadian,' he said of Mr. Musk's slash-and-burn approach. 'We don't have a distrust of the government. We have a belief in good government.' And comedy is one way Mr. Myers can make that point, he believes. 'Fascism doesn't like to be ridiculed; it likes to be feared,' he said. 'Satire is an important tool in the toolbox to say that this is not normal — that the cuts he's making are not normal.' Mr. Myers said he had no ill will toward another prominent Canadian expatriate, the hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky, whose embrace of Mr. Trump's MAGA movement has caused some Canadians to turn against him. Mr. Gretzky remains 'a great Canadian,' Mr. Myers said. He mentioned the game Red Rover, which he played as a boy in Toronto, as a vehicle for inviting Mr. Gretzky to join his side. 'Red Rover, Red Rover, we call Wayne over,' he said. 'I hope he does. We would accept him with open arms.' In his book, Mr. Myers writes that his native country has often struggled to define its purpose, its residents asking not 'Who are we?' but rather 'Why are we?' It has an answer now, he said. 'As the great Canadian poet Joni Mitchell said, 'You don't know what you've got till it's gone,'' he said. 'The possibility of it all being gone has raised our consciousness of how great we are.'
Arab News
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
REVIEW: ‘Atomfall' is a quirky apocalypse featuring retro paranoia and tea-fueled resilience
LONDON: 'Atomfall' is a game that defies easy categorization. Set in a post-apocalyptic version of the English Lake District, this curious hybrid feels like 'Fallout' wandered into a 'Stalker' fever dream while binge-watching 'The Wicker Man,' with just a touch of Austin Powers' absurdity thrown in for good measure. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ It's a love letter to Britain's eerie countryside, retro paranoia and weird tea-fueled resilience — and somehow, it works. A post shared by Atomfall (@atomfallgame) You start as a nameless survivor with no real background, no memory, and no clear purpose beyond 'get out.' A short newsreel hints at some nuclear disaster, but from there, it's up to you to piece things together through exploration and investigation. There's no hand-holding here, but there are helpful instructions to get you going. The narrative is loose, but intriguingly so — it's more about what you discover than what you're told. The open world is split into main landscape regions, each with its own aesthetic and mood. The Lake District setting is surprisingly atmospheric, with moody hills, foggy forests, and crumbling 1950s architecture. Despite its muted palette, Atomfall encourages players to explore every inch — scavenging for materials, unlocking secrets, and finding absurd British cultural relics. Limited ammo and classic crafting mechanics add a layer of survival challenge, making every encounter feel like it matters. Gameplay offers distinct playstyles — combat, survival, and exploration. You can go in guns blazing, sneak around enemies, or scrounge for supplies and tea (yes, tea restores health). Combat is functional, though not always tight. Shooting and melee work well enough, but enemy AI is hit-or-miss. Sometimes they'll charge you recklessly; other times they just stand there wondering what planet they're on. Melee is especially satisfying, though clunky in tight spaces. Likewise, while outlaws, druids, mutants and soldiers are all nominally different challenges they are much of a muchness in terms of dealing with them. 'Atomfall' doesn't shy away from the odd. Its dark humor and sheer Britishness give it a special charm, but the heavy use of local slang and regional accents may confuse non-UK players. Picture 'Clockwork Orange' meets 'Hot Fuzz' and you're halfway there. Still, it's part of the game's identity — this is a very specific apocalypse, where people ask you to fetch delivery parcels and fix a fence while the world burns around them. There is a basic but useful skill tree that lets you tailor your approach, from combat proficiency to crafting perks. Quests are often simple ('bring X to Y'), but branching conversations and trackable leads give them some depth. Your choices in dialogue can impact outcomes — sometimes subtly, sometimes with unexpected consequences. Enemy respawns after death are a mixed blessing. On one hand, it keeps the world dangerous. On the other, it can feel like busywork when you're simply trying to pass through. 'Atomfall' is weird, scrappy, and full of character. It doesn't have the polish of a AAA giant, but it doesn't try to. Instead, it offers a delightfully odd, open-ended experience that rewards curiosity and embraces chaos. For those willing to roll with its eccentricities, 'Atomfall' is a radioactive romp worth taking.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan Recreate ‘When Harry Met Sally' Fake Orgasm Scene for Hellmann's Super Bowl Ad With Sydney Sweeney
One of the things about Sally Albright that drives Harry Burns crazy in the 1989 movie 'When Harry Met Sally' is her picky food sensibilities. It takes her an hour and a half to make a sandwich, he tells her. In the sequel, she only has 30 seconds. The characters, famously played by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, return to New York's Katz' Delicatessen for a reprise of one of the movie's best-known scenes in which Sally pretends to have an orgasm while the pair dines. Now, they will also promote Hellmann's mayonnaise in the Super Bowl. More from Variety Super Bowl Ad Prices Top $8 Million as Surge Fuels Fox Sales Shaboozey Leads Nerds Back to Super Bowl Snack Battle Procter & Gamble to Seed U.S. South During Super Bowl With Commercial for Pet-Safe Lawn Care With the movie recently reaching its 35th anniversary and being accepted into the National Film Registry, 'it just felt like the perfect storm for us to get back together at the same table and have indigestion,' says Crystal, during a recent interview. Hellmann's, which is owned by the consumer-products giant Unilever, is showing its ambition for the Super Bowl commercial, the brand's fifth. In recent years, the popular condiment has focused on the issue of food waste, telling Big Game viewers that the mayonnaise can help them use more of the supermarket staples that they buy. Last year's Super Bowl ad tapped Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson and a 'Mayo Cat.' In contemplating another Super Bowl ad salvo, executives wanted to shake up the mission, says Jessica Grigoriou, senior vice president of marketing for condiments at Unilever, and show how the mayonnaise helped make for superior eating. 'We want to continue to up the bar every year and continue to surprise people too and do something a little bit more unexpected.' she says. The ad taps humor and nostalgia, she adds, two themes that regularly prove popular at the Super Bowl. The new 30-second ad is slated to run in the second quarter during Fox's telecast of the event on February 9. Reviving a classic piece of content, however, is never easy. Indeed, past Super Bowl advertisers have resurrected popular film and TV characters, but usually not in the scenes that made them so memorable. General Motors in 2022 reconvened the cast of the 1997 hit 'Austin Powers' in a new tale that has the popular character Dr. Evil, played by Mike Myers, trying to take over the auto giant in a new bid to control the world. Characters from HBO's 'The Sopranos' were resurrected that year for a spot from Chevrolet. In 2019, Anheuser-Busch InBev's Stella Artois ran a Super Bowl spot featuring Jeff Bridges as 'The Dude' from 'The Big Lebowski' sitting near Sarah Jessica Parker playing Carrie Bradshaw from 'Sex and the City.' Others have tried similar feats in other venues. Comcast in 2019 created a sequel of sorts to the beloved 1982 movie 'E.T.' with the alien and actor Henry Thomas turning up for a longform commercial during NBC's broadcast of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The company consulted with director Steve Spielberg to make sure it stayed true to the conceit. Neither Ryan or Crystal had qualms about picking up where they left off (indeed, the table they sit at in the commercial is the same one used so many years ago in the film). ' I had never been back, ever,' says Ryan. 'It looks precisely, exactly the same.' The rapport the actors still share, says Crystal, will make viewers feel as if the characters 'have been coming there for 35 years every Saturday or Sunday and this is their thing.' The commercial may have been more challenging than the movie, suggests Ryan, who did ads for Burger King and deodorant in a different era. 'I always felt like movies were easier, frankly, with less attention to detail, you know?' she says. 'There is a lot that 30 seconds or 45 seconds or 60 seconds have to communicate. It's a different animal.' Hellman's isn't leaving anything to chance. Fans can order the turkey and pastrami sandwiches they see in the new Super Bowl spot, says Grigoriou, with special instructions included to make the meal to Sally's specifications (which require Hellmann's to make things complete). Customers can even schedule the delivery for the Friday before the Super Bowl. Even though the ad nods to an old film, it still has a new surprise. Sydney Sweeney makes a cameo to offer the oft-remembered line, 'I'll have what she's having.' The recreation of this specific scene shows just how much consumer culture has changed in the decades since the movie was on screens. In 1989, depicting an orgasm in public was viewed as tripping the lines of decency. At the time, 'you hadn't heard the word 'orgasm' in a film unless it was a Ron Jeremy movie,' says Crystal. Now, 'there's far worse on TV.' Oh, Harry. Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in February 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in February 2025
