Latest news with #DennisLehane
Geek Tyrant
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Trailer for Taron Egerton's Investigative Arsonist Series SMOKE — GeekTyrant
Apple TV* has released the first trailer for the investigative arsonist series Smoke , which is based on the Firebug podcast about an arsonist in Southern California. It gives off heavy Backdraft vibes. This new series was created by the acclaimed author Dennis Lehane, whose best known for his crime thriller mystery books Mystic River , Gone Baby Gone , and Shutter Island . In the series, Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett 'attempt to get as close to the truth as possible—without getting burned. A police detective and an arson investigator work together to try and stop two serial arsonists in the Pacific Northwest.' This looks like the kind of show that is going to be filled with all kinds of twists and turns that will keep audiences on the edge of the seats. The full cast also includes John Leguizamo, Rafe Spall, Greg Kinnear, Ntare Mwine, Hannah Emily Anderson, Anna Chlumsky. Smoke is set to premiere on June 27th, 2025.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dennis Lehane to Adapt U.S. Remake of ‘Outrageous' Finnish Hit ‘100 Litres of Gold': ‘My Favorite Kind of Story' (EXCLUSIVE)
Dennis Lehane's production company Hans Bubby has acquired the English-speaking remake rights for Finnish dramedy '100 Litres of Gold.' Directed by Teemu Nikki, it deals with a serious problem: there's nothing to drink and a wedding is around the corner. Sisters Taina and Pirkko promised to brew 100 liters of their famous self-brewed beer, sahti. Their new batch is so tasty, they drink it all themselves — the day before the event. Now they must 'procure' another 100 liters by any means necessary. More from Variety Finnish Animated Adventure 'Fleak' to Get U.S. Distribution After Annecy World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) Teemu Nikki Walks Down 'Memory Lane' in English-Language Debut - After Bingeing on Finnish Beer in '100 Litres of Gold' (EXCLUSIVE) Finland Unveils Six Drama Series at Mipcom, Full of Mysteries, Accidents and 'Networking Events So Silent You Can Hear the Crunch of a Cucumber' (EXCLUSIVE) The film, produced by It's Alive Films, premiered in Finland in March 2025, and quickly became the most- watched domestic film of the year so far. Nikki's also behind 'Euthanizer,' Finland's Oscar entry in 2018, and Venice-winning 'The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic.' His short 'All Inclusive' was presented at Cannes in 2019. 'It's hilarious, outrageous and concerned with people who live on the margins. My favorite kind of story,' said Lehane. 'I pitched it to my partner, Mackenzie Pietzak, pretty much the day I landed back in the U.S. She fell for it as hard as I did, and we decided to try an American remake.' Previously, Lehane wrote the screenplay for the Fox Searchlight feature 'The Drop,' based on his original short story, and created Apple series 'Black Bird' starring Taron Egerton. His new original series 'Smoke' will premiere on Apple TV+ on June 27. 'I got an email from some guy called Dennis when I was sightseeing at the colosseum during Rome Film Fest. I replied something stupid and later realized that this 'Dennis' was actually Dennis Lehane. And then I called Jani to check if I was dreaming,' recalled Teemu Nikki. 'It's fantastic that a writer with such a high profile is interested in our film. I feel like a fanboy!,' added writer-producer Jani Pösö, who co-owns It's Alive Films with Nikki. While the film's set in Nikki's hometown, 'local is global,' he argued. Pösö agreed: 'The whole world is full of places where the community is wrapped around that one thing. The best tomatoes in the world, the best footballer in the world. In [Finnish municipality] Sysmä, that's sahti. The themes we're handling here are universal: sometimes you just have to leave to be able to live.' While already acclaimed critically, the team wasn't expecting to set the box office on fire. 'We Finns don't get excited easily. It took them ten years to find our films and enjoy our humor,' joked Nikki, while Pösö credited marketing and distribution strategy by Finnish distributor Nelonen. 'I think there's at least three things. Firstly, the film is really good, maybe the best we've made so far. Secondly, we've been smashing our heads against the wall for a long time — now, the wall has finally surrendered.' It's Alive Films produced with I Wonder Pictures from Italy and Smile Entertainment from Denmark. A Helsinki-based production company, It's Alive Films, founded in 2013, has produced 8 feature films, 3 TV-series and 18 short films. Lehane is repped by Echo Lake Entertainment, CAA and Hansen, Jacobsen Teller. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
India Today
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
90m barrier breached, Neeraj Chopra will be free to go for glory, more glory
Author Dennis Lehane once wrote: 'We live by night and dance fast so grass can't grow under feet. That's our creed.' Against the glass, glitter and a shimmering Doha Bay, it was that kind of a night at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium. A night where talent embraced destiny, a moment that should have come a long time back, as India's Neeraj Chopra and Germany's Julian Weber, crossed a frontier, that track, and field observers believe was overdue. Yet to a nation fed on quick fire T20 Hundreds, Chopra, provided that perfect distraction throwing 90.23 in his third throw of the night; his first 90 plus throw in a glittering career that has seen him bring India's first Olympic (Tokyo) track and World Championship (Budapest) Weber, prone to injuries and indifferent form, European junior champion way back in 2013, ensured Doha would be the highlight of his career, throwing 91.06 in his last and 6th throw in the process breaking the hearts of millions of Chopra fans, many of them, Indian expats, who generally pack in to the Doha stadium to witness and meet their icon in the Diamond League: HighlightsUsually, it is the track stars who normally catch the fans imagination. But this time, it was javelin, in spite the fact that arguably the world's best sprinter, Jamaica's two-time Olympic 100m Champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was competing in Doha for the first time in a Diamond League. Fraser was beaten to 4th spot, Jamaica's Tia Clayton and her twin sister Tina picking up the top two spots; the Jamaican sprinting stables don't shut down a clear sky, it was apparent that Chopra was in his element. Those who have followed his career, can make it out when he warms up. His loose limbed, relaxed demeanour is always an indication of good, consistent throwing, something that he has always maintained. Not with Chopra, you get to see below-par throws. His consistency, as most javelin throwers in the world say, is of the highest order. Julius Yego who could only finish 9th with 78.52 and is a former 2015 World Champion and 2016 Olympic silver medallist, with a personal best of 92.72, once said about Chopra: 'He doesn't go away. He keeps chipping away at the competition. Till he kind of creates that pressure that if you don't have a big throw, he eventually wears you down and wins.'For someone, who always played down his lack of 90m plus throws, Chopra, has the consistency and laser focus reminiscent of Edwin Moses, the American legendary 400m hurdler and a two time Olympic and World Champion who once went 122 races disappointment for Chopra was Paris where he was beaten by that monstrous 92.97 throw from Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem. It is to Chopra's credit that an entire nation including Chopra went into a spiral of depression. In any other age, era, an Olympic silver would have sent the country into raptures. Analysts, however, saw for the first time, Chopra having a meltdown. The cool, calm, composed, unfazed Chopra for the first time let the pressure get to him; the champion appeared human, brittle, breakable. In six throws, he only had one valid at 89.45, an unbelievable five foul throws. A coach change seemed imminent and walked in probably the greatest javelin thrower of all time, Jan Zelezny, who also holds the world record of 98.48, yes, you read that right! Zelezny is a three-time Olympic and World Champion. For a man like Chopra, bred-in-the-bone integrity, it is ingrained to give it your all. Chopra is not someone who looks at sport or javelin as a means to an end. For him, it is the end. Especially, till he is an athlete and competing. Even for coaches like Zelezny, they see that and set about markers which would not only enhance Chopra the athlete, but also Zelezny the coach; it is the hallmark of great coaches first two throws of 83.82 and 85.87, didn't measure up, at least, there were no pointers as to what he might unleash into the Doha sky. His third of 89.06 was the one that probably gave him the confidence to go all out, that technique of running in and just about bending to the floor after the throw. So different from Chopra's blazing run-in, veering to the left, as the javelin soars with the Indian hitting the floor, with barely controlled momentum. Maybe, by the time, he reaches Tokyo for the World Championships in September, you might see a subtle variance in that third throw after the second was a no-throw, soared as the world champion stood with his arms outstretched, the sign that this was a big one. So, after eight years and nine months, since the day he won the IAAF 2016 U20 World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, Chopra crossed the 90m German's 4th and 5th throw of 88.05 and 89.84 kept him in the hunt. Chopra's 4th was a sub-par 80.56 and with the 6th fouled, it seemed that the Indian might pip the German and pick up the points with a World Lead. But the Doha night, that slight back wind that blows in from the bay, was kinder to Weber as the javelin soared, gravity giving it an extra few seconds in the air before dropping it on the other side of 91, to be exact, 91.06. It was a thriller of a competition. If this was poker, Weber, had seemingly snatched 'the pot', playing, if one can call it, a small Doha night belonged to Weber. Anderson Peters the two-time World Champion, who has a best of 93.07, finished 3rd with understandably, couldn't stop exulting. 'I don't know how that happened because the previous weeks weren't that good for me, but I had a good feeling. My physio gave me a really good massage. The crowd was amazing, there was a great background and that also helped me throw beyond 90 metres for the first time. It also was the winning throw in the last round, so it came out really perfect. Neeraj Chopra had done his 90m sometime before, I was really happy for him because he was fighting for that throw over 90m for some time and it was really special to achieve it tonight. The backwind here in Doha is great for us javelin throwers, if you make the traveling right and throw a little higher, it just flies great.'advertisementChopra, after the joint photo-op with Weber, said, 'I am very happy for the 90m, but this second place - it actually happened to me also when I competed in Turku and in Stockholm. I threw 89.94 and I was always second. And also, here. I am very happy also for Julian Weber. He threw 91 so we both broke 90m for the first time. We have been trying this for so many years, so finally, we managed to get it. It was just a first competition of the year so I am confident that at the next competitions, I will throw far. I feel very good that Jan Zelezny is my coach now and we worked very hard in South Africa. We still work on few points and still learning some things. Normally, he does not go to the Diamond Leagues, but he came with me because he told me that today is the day to achieve 90m.'Post Doha, optimism will run high as Weber and Chopra have set the season ablaze with fans now looking out for the World Championships in Tokyo. Before that Chopra will compete at the Golden Spike 2025 athletics meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on June 24. Olympic Champion Arshad Nadeem will be turning out at the Asian Athletic Championships in with the psychological barrier of the elusive 90m conquered, and with Zelezny backing him, akin to 'Bundini' supporting Muhammad Ali, Chopra can now look forward to creating more thrills, rewriting India and the world's javelin history with soft words, powerful presence and Watch
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Save the Dates: Taron Egerton-Jurnee Smollett Series Premiere, The Brutalist on Max and More
Apple TV+ is going up in Smoke this summer. Formerly known as Firebug, the arson mystery created by Dennis Lehane (Black Bird) and starring Taron Egerton (Black Bird) and Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country) will premiere Friday, June 27, with the first two episodes, followed by weekly drops through Aug. 8. More from TVLine And Just Like That: Carrie Embraces a 'New Chapter' (With Aidan?) in Season 3 Trailer - Plus, Get Premiere Date The Four Seasons: A Freshly Divorced Steve Carell Dates a Much Younger Woman in Trailer for Netflix Comedy Duck Dynasty Revival Sets A&E Premiere Date - Here's Who's Returning In the series, which is inspired by true events from Firebug podcast, a troubled detective (Smollett) and an enigmatic arson investigator (Egerton) pursue the trails of two serial arsonists. The cast also includes Anna Chlumsky (Veep), Adina Porter (American Horror Story, The 100), Greg Kinnear (Shining Vale), John Leguizamo (Waco: The Aftermath, Bloodline), Rafe Spall (Trying), Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (The Lincoln Lawyer, The Chi) and Hannah Emily Anderson (The Purge series). In other recent scheduling news… * A24's The Brutalist, starring Academy Award winner Adrien Brody, will be available to stream on Max, beginning Friday, May 16. * Couples Therapy will drop all nine episodes from the second half of Season 4 Friday, May 23 on Paramount+ With Showtime. The first three episodes will also air Friday, May 23 at 9/8c on Showtime, with two episodes airing weekly the following Fridays. * The documentary series Kevin Costner's The West will premiere Monday, May 26 at 9 pm on History Channel with back-to-back episodes, followed by a special presentation of Episode 3 on Tuesday, May 27 at 8 pm before returning to its regularly scheduled airdate and time of Mondays at 9 pm. Watch a trailer: Best of TVLine Yellowjackets Mysteries: An Up-to-Date List of the Series' Biggest Questions (and Answers?) The Emmys' Most Memorable Moments: Laughter, Tears, Historical Wins, 'The Big One' and More 'Missing' Shows, Found! The Latest on Severance, Holey Moley, Poker Face, YOU, Primo, Transplant and 25+ Others
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Contributor: The abuse story that's seldom told
For years I tried, and mostly failed, to tell the story of my childhood molestation. I played a kind of literary hide-and-seek. To throw the reader off my trail, I threw my voice. I became a practiced ventriloquist. My first dummy was a poem, and even though my poetry tends toward the confessional, I couldn't bring myself to confess openly. I used metaphor, fine writing, versifying, as a feint. Five years later, I tried again. This time, in a novel, I could lend my sexual abuse to my characters. I was able to evoke every telltale detail at a remove. After all, it wasn't me. That's how I'd seen it done by writers I loved. The sexual abuse of boys and men mostly happens in fiction, in Dennis Lehane's 'Mystic River'; Tom Rob Smith's 'Child 44'; Lorenzo Carcaterra's 'Sleepers'; the mysteries of John Banville, writing as Benjamin Black, starting with 'Christine Falls.' I don't imagine these novelists have themselves been abused. I don't believe you must experience a thing to write about it authentically. Many writers have lived through events only to write about them poorly. For a fiction writer, there's no more damnable excuse than 'but that's how it happened.' And so, over the years, I've watched with awe as a few novelists have come out about their abuse. Alexander Chee broached the subject in 'Edenborough.' He then dealt with it nakedly in essay after essay collected in the cleverly titled 'How to Write an Autobiographical Novel.' Junot Díaz, in the title short story of his collection 'Drown,' has his protagonist molested by another character. Twenty-two years later, he wrote a bombshell of a personal essay about his repeated boyhood rape at the hands of an uncle. There are similarly crucial essays, by Barry Lopez and Saïd Sayrafiezadeh. Watching and reading these writers, these men, as they wrestled publicly with their abuse gave me courage. I, too, wanted there to be nothing left to hide, and nowhere to hide it. But when I started a memoir — a project that took as its subject my childhood sexual abuse by my babysitter, a teenage boy, and how my molestation coincided with my mom's violent rape — I found few book-length models among male writers. Numerous women have been able to present the sexual violence they endured as the central subject of a memoir. We men tend to be more circumspect. But the strong, silent type doesn't lend itself to memoir. When I finally finished writing mine, I reached out to Lacy Crawford, whose story of abuse, 'Notes on a Silencing,' was published in 2020. Her response confirmed what I'd encountered: 'In my experience, receiving hundreds of disclosures and talking about sexual abuse all the time for four years, I have seen over and over how impoverished this discourse is for men and boys.' Impoverished indeed, but not because we men don't know our share of sexual violence. Strong evidence supports the finding that 1 in 6 men have been sexually abused or assaulted. This means every sixth dad on the sidelines of a soccer game, every sixth podcast bro or guy author on your bookshelves intimately knows sexual abuse and its aftermath. When we men do write about sexual abuse in longer works of nonfiction, we don't dwell — see 'Transparent,' by Don Lemon or 'Coreyography,' by Corey Feldman. The exceptions I've found are Stephen Mills' 'Chosen' and Charles Blow's 'Fire Shut Up in My Bones' — memoirs by men who acknowledge their abuse as a defining feature of who they are. Few men are up to this admission, and the effect of this dearth, what Crawford called our impoverished discourse, is that men have an easier time giving the benefit of the doubt to abusers over the abused. How else could so many of us vote to reelect Donald Trump for a second presidential term? While we men who've been abused are a large silent minority, that telling 1-in-6 statistic has a flip side: 5 in 6 men have no firsthand knowledge of what it's like to be victimized sexually. This means more than 80% of men may suffer an empathy gap created by an absence of personal experience. What if the silent minority of abused men were more vocal? What if the discourse were richer and more robust? I'm not advocating for all abused men to come out at once in a #MenToo co-opting of #MeToo. Opening up, sharing our stories in a healthy way, takes years. And for men, as compared with women, there is less emotional infrastructure in place for support. For most of us, most of the time, telling our loved ones — our husbands and wives, parents and children — may well be enough. But what if the 5 in 6 men who've been spared the lifelong indignity of being sexually abused spent a little more time exercising their understanding, reading a few of the essays and memoirs by abused men and women? It could bridge the empathy gap. A gap that should be narrowed by this knowledge: A mere 2% to 8% of sexual-assault accusations are deemed false. Perhaps then men, abused and unabused alike, would side more readily with E. Jean Carroll, whose claims against Trump were found by a jury to be factual. And the next time another R. Kelly or Donald Trump makes a plea of innocence or a play for power — despite overwhelming evidence of abuses after the application of due process — we may face less resistance when ushering them off the national stage once and for all. Jay Baron Nicorvo is the author of the memoir 'Best Copy Available,' the novel 'The Standard Grand' and the poetry collection 'Deadbeat.' If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
