Latest news with #Boogeyman
Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Will the Edmonton Oilers be able to exorcise their Stanley Cup demons?
Article content After splitting the first two games of this year's rematch at Rogers Place in Edmonton in a couple of overtime games it looked like nobody might win, the Oilers returned to Sunrise, Fla., for Game 3, and ended up playing right into the Panthers' paws. The antagonists of this story played their roles to a T, antagonizing the Oilers into precarious situations where they could be picked off, one by one, with the audience back in Edmonton foreseeing the obvious foreshadowing while screaming at their beloved characters to stop. Essentially, the Panthers turned the Oilers into the bad guys in the eyes of the officials, who doled out no fewer than 84 penalty minutes in Monday's game, the overwhelming majority of which cited Edmonton as the aggressor. If the Oilers were a bright, clean clown peering out from the sewer, then their red balloon popped in a 6-1 loss, and out spewed the Boogeyman, followed by the Babadook, both Freddy and Jason, some clown in a cornfield and a host of Deadites, to name a few.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Boys' Creator Eric Kripke Warns That Trump's Tariff Plan Could Hurt, Not Help, Hollywood
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump stunned the entertainment industry by proposing a 100 percent tariff on foreign-made films — and potentially television shows — as part of a plan to 'save' what he called a 'dying' Hollywood. So far, the White House says 'no final decisions' have been made on whether it will take effect, but inside the industry, pushback is already mounting. In a wide-ranging conversation with Katie Couric Media, The Boys creator Eric Kripke challenged the idea, arguing that while Los Angeles may no longer be the dominant production hub, slapping steep levies on international shoots won't bring business back to the U.S. — and may only deepen the industry's challenges. 'What happens if your visual effects company is international? Do you have to pay double for that even if you're making an American picture?' he posited. Kripke knows what he's talking about. The writer and producer behind long-running series like Supernatural and films like Boogeyman has spent his career navigating the economics of global production — filming in Vancouver, Toronto, and Los Angeles, chasing tax incentives and stretching tight budgets. Few creators have had a closer view of how — and why — the industry has moved away from its traditional home base. Still, many in Hollywood remain hesitant to speak publicly. Some producers declined to comment on the record, and a recent letter to the president from Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone — two of his closest Hollywood allies — urging tax relief for the film and TV industry made no mention of the issue. We spoke with Kripke about why tariffs aren't the answer, what it would actually take to bring production back to Southern California, and how economic policy could shape the future of storytelling. Eric Kripke: The proposed 100 percent tariff on shooting internationally is a real and serious problem. In my entire career, I've only shot in Los Angeles twice — it's a lot of jobs lost in what is the center of the industry. However, tariffs are not the way to solve that problem. It's confusing, a little scattershot, and I think almost impossible to implement because movies like Mission: Impossible or James Bond have to be shot around the world. Even though you're shooting some of it in the United States, you're also circling the globe. What happens if your visual effects company is international? Do you have to pay double for that even if you're making an American picture? [Filmmaking] isn't the same as importing products, where at the port, you say, 'Well, if it's coming from this place, we add this tax.' I don't know how you would define what gets taxed and how those taxes would be implemented. It also infringes on free speech to a certain extent. I just don't understand the legality of it. We shoot The Boys in Toronto for two reasons: The relative strength of the American dollar and the tax incentives and rebates that they give. So in effect, we're getting an additional like 19 cents on the dollar, 20 cents on the dollar of every single dollar spent, which is millions and millions of dollars more than we would have had were we to shoot in Los Angeles. In terms of being able to stretch the dollar, that equates to a whole other action scene or a big actor that I wouldn't be able to afford otherwise. These kinds of things really affect the quality of the show. But filming in Canada used to be a mess. It wasn't until they brought X-Files up there that it really modernized the industry in that city. The tragic thing is Los Angeles already has all the infrastructure that has taken these other towns decades to build, and now it has kind of just been sitting on its butt with amazing crew and sound stages just watching these other towns evolve into amazing production centers. But one thing that's not attractive about Canada is the weather — it's horrible. It would 100 percent [make us more competitive.] Southern California has to be competitive in its tax incentives. They're so far behind not just Canada but also Atlanta and other production hubs like New York. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is actually finally paying attention to it. A bill is starting to circulate about drastically increasing the tax rebate. That's how to get production home — you get them home with a carrot, not a stick. It's not just California: Other states need to really examine their tax incentives and find ways to make it attractive to film there. What they're losing in tax revenue, they're gaining in salaries and thousands of jobs. They're also stabilizing the middle class who work on these productions, including carpenters, craftsmen, cameramen, and caterers. Studios are primarily driven by how they can save money, which I understand. They're a business, and their job is to try to save money. As much as it irritates me personally on a day-to-day basis, I get it. So if they can save as much money as they would save if they were to shoot in Toronto or Vancouver, for sure, they would choose Los Angeles. It would be simpler logistically: It'd be easier for them to get to set and save them money on plane tickets. If they want to yell at a director, it's just a drive. There's quite a lot of production happening in the United States — it's just not happening in Southern California. You can't book a sound stage in Atlanta because it's so busy. It's the same case with New York State and New Mexico. The worse the economy gets, the harder it is to import things and mount productions. Productions are very much like giant construction projects — you're just building things with equipment from all over. This 100 percent tariff on movies produced outside the U.S. could have a really chilling effect on independent film. Worst-case scenario: Studios will become even more focused on Marvel or comic books, which is not great for variety. But they [make so much money], they'll survive whatever happens. What might not survive is the man or the woman with a really fresh vision and only half a million dollars or a million dollars to make their movie. Those people would normally have to make it in Canada, London, or Ireland just to get it on its feet. It couldn't be worse timing for the tariffs because a lot of the [people being taxed] are very small filmmakers making very low-budget stuff. And if everyone's scared to buy a movie that was shot overseas, there will be people whose dreams will get dashed over this. We live in a scary time, and there are bigger problems to tackle [than the film industry]. But [taxing it] is not helping it. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The post 'The Boys' Creator Eric Kripke Warns That Trump's Tariff Plan Could Hurt, Not Help, Hollywood appeared first on Katie Couric Media.
USA Today
20-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Patricio 'Pitbull' details UFC signing, rips featherweight 'p*ssies' for ducking offers
'Pitbull' is headed to a new cage. After more than a decade of carving out his legacy as one of the greatest to ever compete outside of the UFC, former Bellator double champion Patricio Freire is now a UFC fighter. Speaking to MMA Junkie for the first time since Dana White announced the news Wednesday, Freire (36-7 MMA, 0-0 UFC) said the period of time between his PFL departure and UFC onboarding presented much more uncertainty than anticipated. 'To be very honest with you, we thought that the moment we got my release, the UFC would sign me,' Freire said Thursday through an interpreter. 'Everyone, the fans, the media were telling it. It was pretty obvious. Everything was expecting to see an announcement that same day. But that's not what happened. We had some barriers to overcome. There was a particular person from the UFC brass who wasn't very happy with signing me. He was against it because of my age. In the end, he ended up being convinced. I was born the exact same day as Alex 'Poatan,' and he is champion, the biggest name right now. That was one of the arguments.' UFC brass was split on adding Freire to the roster. Ultimately, everyone on the promotion's side warmed up to the idea as Freire said he repeatedly accepted matchups that opposing UFC contenders rejected. 'One of the things I believe favored me in all this was that a couple weeks after our first meeting, they asked if I would fight a certain fighter and that fighter, a ranked fighter said no,' Freire said. 'Then they offered me a few other options, and I said yes to all of them, and they said no. As the UFC saw that this old guy was saying yes to all those young guys and the young guys were running away, they were like, 'We have a guy that's for real here. So let's sign him.' I think that helped change the mindset of the person that was against me signing with the UFC. It all came to happen now. But we had some struggles along the way. We had some doubts. But in the end, it all came through.' A message to UFC featherweights: 'Don't run' Eventually, a willing taker emerged. Yair Rodriguez (16-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) accepted a fight vs. Freire, which will take place April 12 at UFC 314 in Miami. As for the rest of the fighters atop the division, Freire looks down on the attitude put forth during the matchmaking process. 'They're a bunch of p*ssies,' Freire said. 'That's what they are. A fighter has to fight. That's why I'm here. … When I was outside of the organization, many of you were talking sh*t. Now that I'm in, many of you are running. So what I have to say is don't run. If you run, I'm going to be the Boogeyman, and I'm going to get you at your home.' Freire is 37. The unnamed member of the UFC brass wasn't the only one who has voiced concerns about his age and longevity in the sport. Freire has seen the comments from fans on every post, but said science is actually on his side. 'We have all the data of everything: power, strength and conditioning, cardio and all that,' Freire said. 'We keep all the scores from all the fighters in our gym. Up until today, I'm still breaking all of my records. In all of those things, I'm improving. I had neck surgery in 2023. After I had that surgery, it got in the way of some of my fights. I wasn't performing properly. After I got that surgery, I was able to regain my strength. I got back that gorilla grip that I used to have. My power and strength came back to me. I feel really rejuvenated. Of course there are some differences for being at my age and being a young guy. Some young guys are more explosive and all that. But there also comes the experience. 'I know now I'm better technically. I don't telegraph my punches. I do not telegraph my attacks. I used my energy only in the exact moments that I need it so I don't waste any energy. We had a test here for how long can we keep ourselves in our combat zone. That means having your heart beats over 174 bpm. I can do that for 30 minutes. Everything on me has been improving, literally. I don't have any worries about my age being a factor, especially now after the surgery and everything. I feel that I'm much better than before.' Time to build UFC legacy Legacy has been Freire's main focus after what has been described by him to have been a lucrative career as the face of Bellator. That's why he made the jump to the UFC. But now that he's in the organization, he's not focused on what the rearview mirror will look like 10 years from now. His attention is straight ahead – pointed at UFC gold. 'I'm not focused on that right now,' Freire said. 'I'm focused on my next fight. All that comes later. I'm focusing on this fight, winning that debut. I'm going to challenge for the UFC title. I'm going to win the UFC title. I know that's what's going to happen. I know that's all that's important for me right now. That's what I'm focusing on. I know there are tough fighters in this division, I know it's a tough division. I know people think that I have to prove myself but at the end of the day they're going to see that everything I've been talking about has been correct.'
