Latest news with #DavidStratton
ABC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
ICYMI: David and Margaret honoured with Walk of Fame star, Talking Heads release first music video for Psycho Killer
Welcome to ICYMI, where we recap the entertainment and arts news you might have missed over the past week. David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz might just be Australia's most beloved film critics — and now they have the star to prove it! The pair were presented with their very own star on the Australian Film Walk of Fame outside the historic Ritz Cinema in Randwick, Sydney. Their induction makes them the first duo and the first non-actors to be honoured with a star. Stratton and Pomeranz hosted SBS's The Movie Show for 18 years before clocking up another decade as the faces of ABC's At The Movies. Through both shows, the pair brought both blockbusters and indie fare to the attention of movie-lovers across the country. "I am thrilled to be given this acknowledgement … particularly with its association to one of this country's most innovative and pro-active cinemas. It is truly an honour," Pomeranz said. "It is gratifying to be connected to the Ritz Cinema, which is one of the finest movie places in Australia," Stratton agreed. Since 2008, the Australian Film Walk of Fame has honoured those who have made outstanding contributions to the local industry. Previous inductees include Jack Thompson, Deborah Mailman and Claudia Karvan. Beyond their work in front of the camera, Pomeranz and Stratton have been champions for the local film scene, long advocating for Australian film quotas and challenging film censorship in the country. Stratton, who was director for the Sydney Film Festival for nearly 20 years, was instrumental in bringing in the R18+ classification to Australia, which allowed for films with more controversial topics to be screened locally, instead of being outright banned. Their trademark brand of cinematic activism — including Pomeranz's arrest — was the inspiration behind 2025 comedy show Refused Classification, from comedians Alexei Toliopoulos and Zachary Ruane, which sold out venues around the country. In it Ruane plays Stratton while Toliopoulos dons a blonde wig to pay tribute to his idol, Pomeranz. The artist and his muse posed together for photos at the Australian Film Walk of Fame ceremony. Edmund White, the co-author behind revolutionary book The Joy of Gay Sex, has died, aged 85. Although he was subjected to conversion therapy as a child and young man, White eventually embraced his identity and became a pillar of gay literature, penning 36 books in total, many of them hauntingly autobiographical. His debut novel was Forgetting Elena (which was praised by Vladamir Nabokov), but four years later he released The Joy of Gay Sex, a sex-positive guide for gay men he had co-authored with his psychologist, Dr Charles Silverstein. The book that really made White's name was A Boy's Own Story, the first of his highly acclaimed trilogy of novels that chronicle a young gay man's coming of age in America. "Gay fiction before that, Gore Vidal and Truman Capote, was written for straight readers," White told the New York Times. "We had a gay readership in mind, and that made all the difference. We didn't have to spell out what Fire Island was." In the midst of the AIDS crisis, White helped found the Gay Men's Health Crisis group in New York in the same year he released A Boy's Own Story. He went public with his HIV-positive status in 1985, one of the first public figures to do so. As well as receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship, White won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1994 and the National Book Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He is survived by his partner of almost 30 years, writer Michael Carroll, who he married in 2013. He published his sixth memoir — The Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoir — in early 2025. Wake up. Eat. Drive to work. Talk to your co-workers. Drive home. Eat. Go to Sleep. The daily grind is enough to turn anyone into psycho killers, even legendary rock'n'roll bands. Art-rock pioneers Talking Heads waited more than 40 years to make an official music video for their smash hit, 'Psycho Killer'. But, on the 50th anniversary of the band's first live performance, they finally did. Starring Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird, Little Women) and directed by Mike Mills (C'mon C'mon) the music video documents one woman's life as she suffers through a mental breakdown in a Groundhog-Day-esque daily grind cycle. "This video makes the song better," Talking Heads said in a statement. "We LOVE what this video is NOT — it's not literal, creepy, bloody, physically violent or obvious." Amazing news for fans of talkative mimes and Twitch streamers covered in Smurf body paint: comedian Tom Walker is joining season nine of The Great Australian Bake Off as a co-host. Walker — who trained in clowning at the prestigious École Philippe Gaulier outside Paris — has been a mainstay in the Australian comedy scene ever since he took home Best Newcomer and Director's Choice awards at the 2016 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. His 2019 hour Very, Very was released as a special by Amazon Prime Video and highlighted his incredible (and incredibly sweaty) mime skills. Since then, Walker has moved into Twitch streaming to his near 20,000-strong audience and has become a frequent face on Guy Montgomery's Guy MontSpelling Bee. "I truly loved being a part of The Great Australian Bake Off. The whole crew is so warm, funny, welcoming and kind, and the bakers are so talented it blows my mind," Walker said in a statement. "To the little boy who grew up thinking he'd never see a biscuit city: you were wrong." Walker will join returning host Natalie Tran for the latest season. He follows in a long line of Aussie comedians in the Bake Off shed including Mel Buttle, Claire Hooper and Cal Wilson, who died suddenly in late 2023. Australian global TV event Future Vision has announced the international headliners for the summit's second edition. Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd — who picked up Golden Globes, Emmys and most recently a Peabody award for his semi-autobiographical series — will be joined by Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright and Pachinko creator Soo Hugh at this year's event. Returning co-chairs — Nine Perfect Strangers producer Bruna Papandrea and screenwriter Tony Ayres, built the line-up around the concept of "optimism in the face of uncertainty". "Richard Gadd, Sally Wainwright, and Soo Hugh are undoubtedly some of the most exciting television creators in the world today," Papandrea and Ayres said in a statement. "We cannot wait to engage with them in Melbourne and bring their thinking and provocation to the thought leaders at home." Taking place from July 14-16 at ACMI in Melbourne, the final two days of the summit are invite-only, however, Monday July 14 has ticketed options for the public to attend. There's no denying the best things always come in twos: Tom and Jerry; socks; the final instalment of the Twilight franchise. And, of course, a good Broadway show. After the first Wicked movie honoured the original stage production (including the powerful Defying Gravity cliffhanger), fans knew Wicked: For Good would be its epic act two conclusion — but that hasn't made waiting for it any easier. But the trailer for Wicked: For Good is finally here, showing that the friendship and undeniable chemistry of leads Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will remain true and sing (literally and figuratively) through to the musical's wicked conclusion.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New coffee bar with 'New York City feel' opens in downtown Taunton. What's on the menu?
TAUNTON — The pieces appear to have fallen into place for Pastor David Stratton and his wife Michelle. It's been nearly two years since the Strattons told the Taunton Daily Gazette that their plans for relocating their New Hope Christian Chapel from Easton to downtown Taunton would incorporate both a youth-oriented 'community center' and a separate, for-profit coffee bar. Their non-denominational Christian church, now known simply as New Hope, has been holding Sunday services since July of 2023 inside the former Forman's men's clothing store at 49-53 Main St. But it wasn't until this past year's annual Lights on Festival, held on nearby Taunton Green the evening of Dec. 7 — as part of the city's traditional 'Christmas City' celebration — that both The Center on Main community center and a coffee-and-sandwich business called Identity Coffee Co. were introduced to the public. 'It was crazy busy — a real festive mood,' said veteran Taunton City Councilor David Pottier, describing the scene that night inside the Main Street building where Identity Coffee Co. is now percolating. Pottier said he's impressed with the extensive renovation that was undertaken during the past couple of years to completely transform what, for more than half a dozen years, had been the single largest, vacant storefront property in the central business district. 'It's a great space [and] a great addition to the downtown,' he said. All about the Center on Main A community hub: The Center on Main community center opens in downtown. What is offered? The Identity Coffee Co. menu includes more than a dozen espresso and in-house coffee creations; half a dozen tea selections; and a frozen drink section chock full of smoothies and 'refreshers' with ingredients such as watermelon, elderberry, cucumber and açaí. Hungry customers — who either can carry out or stay and relax on Art Deco-style couches and cushioned chairs — also have the option of ordering breakfast and lunch sandwiches and wraps. 'Big dreams' Here's why Easton church is opening a community center in downtown Taunton Manager Joshua Silver said hours of operation, for the time being, are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. He also anticipates the inclusion of an outside, walk-up ice cream window next spring. Silver described his meal staples as 'simple sandwiches' that don't require a separate kitchen: 'We just have a small oven and toaster,' he said. He currently manages a staff of 12, three of whom are full-time employees. More varieties of coffee, Silver said, will eventually be available to augment the bolder Ethiopian, Peruvian and Columbian blends that have been poured since the Taunton business officially opened on Dec. 16. Identity Coffee Co. operates its own roastery in the town of Westminster in Worcester County. Silver, 44, says his professional background includes stints from Attleboro to Boston working as a cook, chef and bar manager. He foresees occasional live music eventually being played using the stage area where New Hope church services are held each Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon. Silver estimated that 80% of his customers have been dining in as opposed to picking up takeout orders. 'It's a pretty unique place,' he said. 'It's in my blood' Owners' daughter opens luxury MedSpa inside Taunton's New York Lace Customer Sean Andrews of Taunton was among a group of six who on a recent Saturday afternoon patronized Identity Coffee Co. for the first time. 'I started following it on Instagram,' Andrews, 54, said. 'It doesn't feel like Taunton. The space has kind of a New York City feel.' His friend Tim Hebert agreed and said that Identity Coffee Co., in tandem with the non-profit The Center on Main — with its ping pong and pool tables upstairs in the building's elevated loft area — 'I started following it on Instagram,' Andrews, 54, said. 'It doesn't feel like Taunton. The space has kind of a New York City feel.' Silver said he met co-owner Jonathan Cashman — who, with his wife Britney, owns Identity Coffee Co. and its six New England locations — through Taunton-based Christian music recording artist Eric Lee Brumley. The Cashmans, who previously lived in Nashville for 14 years, at one time toured as a duo performing as 'contemporary Christian' musicians and songwriters. Jonathan, a Rhode Island native, and Britney, who grew up in the Bay State, have since moved back to Massachusetts. The couple, in 2022, bought what was then a single coffee shop called Identity Coffee Lab in the small town of Rindge, New Hampshire. Since then, and before expanding into Taunton and Bristol County, they opened Identity Coffee Co. locations in the town of Meredith and ski resort Waterville Valley, both in New Hampshire, as well as Fitchburg and ski destination Wachusett Mountain in Massachusetts. Downtown business and property owner Jose Bejarano bought the vacant and rundown Forman's building in 2017. Bejarano is sole proprietor of a haberdashery at 40 Main St. known as TuxTowne by Bejarano, which sits directly across from the former Forman's site. He also owns buildings and storefronts on the same side of his tuxedo shop, as well as commercial property on Cedar and Trescott streets. Bejarano says he has a sublease agreement with David and Michelle Stratton whereby they are entitled to collect rent from Identity Coffee Co. He said he was less than enthusiastic when David Stratton initially approached him about leasing the building for another 'storefront church.' But the parties subsequently came to a rent-to-own agreement after the Strattons told him about their plan to include a teen-centric community center and a for-profit coffee bar. 'There's a trend now for coffee businesses to lease space from a church,' said Bejarano, who added that he likes the idea of providing a safe haven for teens without displaying traditional religious symbols. Bejarano says the arrangement should prove mutually beneficial in another way: When prom season rolls along he expects some of his high school customers will venture across the street to the coffee shop and community center while waiting to be fitted. Michelle Stratton said that she and her husband, Pastor David Stratton, got a helping hand from Taunton's Office of Economic and Community Development in applying and qualifying for a $225,000 MassDevelopment grant as part of its Underutilized Properties Program. Stratton says she and her husband intended to buy the building from Bejarano, but in order to comply with the terms and requirements of the state grant were obliged to sign a five-year lease with an option to buy. 'They don't want you to flip it for a quick profit,' she said. She said in addition to paying for an ADA-compliant elevator lift, the money went towards a major overhaul of the building including heating and air conditioning, a new sprinkler system and electrical upgrades. Other sources of funding, Stratton said, came from donations and the sale of the church's property in Easton. The final price tag for code upgrades and renovations, she said, easily surpassed $500,000. 'It took us two and a half years,' she said. Stratton said that she and her husband decided to leave Easton for a larger urban center in order to reach more people. They initially considered Brockton but opted for Main Street Taunton on the advice of their friend Becky Piscitelli, a devout Christian and owner of Cards and Pockets, which now occupies 64 Weir St. that once was home to the BaHa Brothers Sandbar Grill. 'We felt it would be integral for people to gather around food and drink, and we knew we wanted to be in a city,' Stratton said. Colleen Simmons, executive director of the Taunton Business Improvement District, which charges property owners a small fee for year-round beautification and cleanup services, is convinced Identity Coffee Co. will not adversely affect the nearby Maria's Place breakfast and lunch restaurant. She also doesn't think it will draw business away from Neighbors Coffee & Co. on Weir Street. 'When you have multiples of the same kind of business it's an indication of a thriving downtown,' Simmons said. Local historian, author and Bridgewater State University professor Bill Hanna says the building at 49-53 Main St. was owned and occupied by J.C. Penney Company (now known as JCPenney) from 1931 to 1960. Two years later, in 1962, it became known as Forman's, Hanna said. City Councilor David Pottier, 60, says he remembers when Forman's was still thriving: 'I think I got my first suit there,' he said. This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Identity Coffee Co. opens in Taunton's Center on Main. What's on menu?
