Latest news with #SamuelLJackson
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Who is Zoe Jackson, daughter of Samuel L. Jackson? She's an Emmy-winning producer with credits including Project Runway and RuPaul's Drag Race – and she went to school with Anne Hathaway
Last October, Hollywood legend Samuel L. Jackson was honoured at the Museum of Modern Art's star-studded Film Benefit in New York – and the celebrated actor had two of the most important women in his life by his side to cheer him on. We're talking, of course, about his wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson and their daughter, Zoe Jackson, both of whom looked radiant in white, while the man of the hour sported an all-black ensemble. Other celebrity guests included Denzel Washington , Amanda Seyfried, Natasha Lyonne , Meghann Fahy and Tinseltown's newest 'It' couple, Iris Apatow and Sam Nivola, among others. The evening also featured a performance by singer Tems. Honoree Samuel L. Jackson and wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson at the Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit in New York last October. Photo: AP Advertisement The Pulp Fiction star thanked his partner during his speech, in which he touched on what he called the life-changing power of cinema and on his drive to 'keep creating', but he also gave her a shout-out on Instagram, calling her his 'rock'. He then took the chance to thank his daughter, addressing her as 'the inspiration'. So, what else do we know about Zoe Jackson? She's an Emmy-winning producer Samuel L. Jackson's daughter, Zoe Jackson, as a baby. Photo: @samuelljackson/Instagram Zoe Jackson, 43, studied psychology at Vassar College, New York, where a classmate was actress Anne Hathaway . On her graduation day, it was her dad who gave the commencement speech, making it extra special. After graduating, Jackson took to production and worked on huge successes like Project Runway and RuPaul's Drag Race . It was for RPDR that she won an Emmy in 2021. Jackson worked with Hathaway and father Samuel on Funny or Die and collaborated with him again on documentary series Life on the Edge, about gang culture. She helps keep her parents together Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson welcomed their daughter, Zoe, on March 28, 1982. Photo: @samuelljackson/Instagram Zoe Jackson was raised with much love by her superstar parents. Her mum, a prolific actress, took a step back from her career after Zoe was born to focus on motherhood, and her father also made sure to be a part of her life. 'My dad was an absentee dad, so it was always important to me that I was part of my daughter's life, and she deserved two parents, which is part of what informs us staying married for 30 years,' the Star Wars actor told Esquire in 2010. To spend time with their daughter, the busy couple go on a lavish sailing holiday with her every July. She can cook
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
50 Wild Photos Of Celebs With Their Stunt Doubles That Made Me Do A Double-Take (See What I Did There?)
Samuel L. Jackson's stunt double from Secret Invasion. Gerard Binks / Getty Images, Des Willia /Marvel Entertainment/Disney+ / Courtesy Everett Collection must be so weird looking at your double, like Taylor Lautner is doing with his double from Tracers below. you can see The Rock and his stunt double, Tanoai Reed (his cousin!), for Pain And Gain. Johansson actually had a male stunt double for Fly Me to the Moon! Here they are together. You can see a better photo here. Patriot Pics / BACKGRID, Sony Pictures Releasing / Courtesy Everett Collection Brad Pitt played a stunt double in Once Upon a Hollywood, it's kind of funny to see his double for the film. Margot Robbie's stunt double from Barbie! This may be Emma Eastwood, who did double for Margot, but I think it's more likely a separate stunt double. Ryan Gosling's stand-in for Barbie, Adam Hart, vs. Gosling himself. Bellocqimages/Bauer-Griffin / GC Images via Getty Images, Warner Bos. /Courtesy Everett Collection of Ryan, here he is with his stunt driver from The Fall Guy, Logan Holladay. Nicole Kidman and her body double from The Undoing, who seems to be Aline Mayne. can see Melissa McCarthy's stunt double from Thunder Force, Luci Romberg, below. Hopper Stone / Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection are the stunt doubles for Harry, Umbridge, and Hermione from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix versus the actors. a comparison where you can see Ron, too. not Johnny Depp in The Tourist in that first photo — that's his double. That's Depp on the right there. Daniele Venturelli / WireImage via Getty Images, Peter Mountain/Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection isn't Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man either on the left, no matter how much he may look like him! Mark Mainz / Getty Images, Columbia / courtesy Everett Collection here's his double from Spider-Man 3. you can see Andrew Garfield in his Spidey suit next to two of his stuntmen while filming The Amazing Spider-Man 2. = can spot Garfield with another Spidey double here. Related: 23 Celebrity Couples Who Revealed Intimate Details About Their Lives That Literally No One Asked For isn't Robert Pattinson on the left filming The Batman – it's his double. Pattinson is on the right. MEGA / GC Images via Getty Images, Jonathan Olley / Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection close, but those two guys on the left aren't Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. They're the doubles. Bobby Bank / WireImage via Getty Images, Lucasfilm Ltd. You can see another comparison of them here. Bobby Bank / WireImage via Getty Images, Lucasfilm Ltd. out Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in The Hunger Games next to her stunt double. You can see Lawrence's stunt double, Renae Moneymaker, closer-up here. Special Features / Via Lionsgate a recent example, here's Danielle Brooks and her Minecraft stunt double! Jessica Chastain's double for The 355. of the men below played John Wick in the third film — but the one on the left is a stunt double. Bobby Bank/GC Images via Getty Images, Summit Entertainment / Via You can see another shot of Reeves and his Wick double here, though I'm not sure it's the same one. Related: "Rude, Crass, Entitled Piece Of Garbage": People Are Revealing Their Best And Worst Celebrity Encounters, And These Are Genuinely Soooo Fascinating of Keanu, here's his double from The Matrix Resurrections, with Keanu on the right. BACKGRID, Murray Close / Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection Jason Momoa from Fast his stunt double on the left. CREDITCobra Team / BACKGRID, Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection is Chris Evans's stuntman from Captain America: Civil War next to the superhero himself. Chad Buchanan / GC Images via Getty Images, Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection guy on the left is definitely not Brad Pitt — but he did stand in for him in Burn After Reading. James Devaney / WireImage via Getty Images, Focus Features / courtesy Everett Collection another Brad Pitt double, this time from Wolves, alongside Pitt in the film. Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin / GC Images, Gotham / GC Images via Getty Images out Javier Bardem and his stunt double for Lyle Lyle Crocodile. Daniel Craig's stunt double in Spectre. What, you didn't think he was filming all those intense stunts, did you? can see a much better example of Craig's double in these photos from the set of No Time To Die. Hugo Weaving and his double from Cloud Atlas. Jordan Bridges' stunt double from WeCrashed. It's actually freaky how much they look alike. contrast, Ben Stiller's stunt double from Happy Gilmore 2, Greg Fitzpatrick, doesn't look much like him. Phoenix's Two Lovers double, Bob Colletti, also looks nothing like him. Bobby Bank / WireImage via Getty Images, Magnolia Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection Michelle Pfeiffer's body double from Stardust — and Pfeiffer in the film. Niki Nikolova / FilmMagic via Getty Images, Paramount / courtesy Everett Collection more Nicole Kidman body double! Check out her body double from Australia. Kidman wasn't shooting anything on horseback as she'd recently given birth. another Nicole Kidman stunt double, this time from The Interpreter, though I think she looks more like Naomi Watts meets Hilary Swank. Nicole's on the right. James Devaney / WireImage, Universal / courtesy Everett Collection more Brad Pitt double, though I think he'd be better for Sebastian one's from The Counselor. Simon James / FilmMagic via Getty Images, TOE/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images via Getty Images You can see a photo of them together here. you can see Amy Schumer and her doubles for Kinda Pregnant. if you haven't seen the show, you probably know Rami Malek stars in Mr. Robot. Here he is with his stunt double. Abbie Cornish and her stunt double from The Dark Fields. Michael Shamus Wiles' stunt double Ian Eyre from Justified. Jim Caviezel's Person of Interest stunt double. Bobby Bank / WireImage via Getty Images, Giovanni Rufino / CBS / courtesy Everett Collection Zeeko Zaki's FBI stunt double, David Pope. Zaki's on the right. Bobby Bank / GC Images via Getty Images, Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images via Getty Images it back for a Ethel Merman can be seen with two of her stunt doubles for It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World: Helen Thurston and Donna Rumsey. is Dick Ziker and his stunt double, Robert Urich from VEGA$. you can see Wolf Larson and Lydie Denier's stunt doubles (Sonny Surowiec and Melissa Stubbs) from the old Tarzan TV show. Hunt's stunt double from The Mating of Millie wasn't a kid at all — it was Billy Curtis (left), who had a long Hollywood career as an actor himself. finally, this isn't from a movie or TV show, but it's still pretty funny to see – here's Lil Jon and two of his body doubles for his "What U Gon' Do" music video. Also in Celebrity: 19 Celebrities Who Are Way Smarter Than You Thought They Were — Like, One Is A Neuroscientist Also in Celebrity: 12 Celebs Who Came Out At A Young Age, And 13 Who Came Out Way Later In Life Also in Celebrity: 9 Celebrities Who Have Endorsed Donald Trump In The Past Month
CNET
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
What Are Deepfakes? Everything to Know About These AI Image and Video Forgeries
One of the most worrisome and fascinating applications of artificial intelligence is a deepfake. These often hyper-realistic digital forgeries replace someone's face, voice or entire likeness in images, audio recordings and videos. What was once a niche Hollywood visual effects VFX tool — like digitally de-aging Samuel L. Jackson in Captain Marvel — has become widely accessible through AI-driven manipulation. Today, almost anyone can generate a deepfake in minutes with simple and easily accessible AI tools like Synthesia, DeepFaceLab, Reface, HeyGen, Pickle and ElevenLabs (for audio). If you're wondering how advanced and realistic these deepfakes have become, brace yourself: A study of 2,000 people in the UK and the US this year showed only 0.1% of participants could spot a deepfake video or image "even when specifically told to look for fakes," while 22% had never even heard of deepfakes before taking the survey. Some people use deepfakes for harmless fun, but the technology has raised serious ethical concerns, from misinformation and disinformation to fraud and privacy violations. Unlike other AI image generators and video generators, such as Dall-E, Midjourney and Sora, deepfakes specifically modify or fabricate realistic media to imitate real people. Let's dive deeper into how AI deepfakes work and what risks come with them. Watch this: How to Clone Your Own Voice With AI 05:38 Is creating a deepfake difficult? Deepfakes are not a new technology. This "face-swap" tech, where one person's face is replaced with another's to alter their identity, became very apparent in 2017 when a deepfake of President Barack Obama, produced and voiced by director Jordan Peele and BuzzFeed, warned viewers about tech advancements that can make people appear to say or do things they never actually did. Even then, forensics at the Pentagon said it was easier to generate a deepfake than to detect one. Imagine how hard it is to distinguish a deepfake from a real video nowadays. Deepfakes rely on deep learning, a branch of AI that mimics how humans recognize patterns. These AI models analyze thousands of images and videos of a person, learning their facial expressions, movements and voice patterns. Then, using generative adversarial networks, AI creates a realistic simulation of that person in new content. GANs are made up of two neural networks where one creates content (the generator), and the other tries to spot if it's fake (the discriminator). The number of images or frames needed to create a convincing deepfake depends on the quality and length of the final output. For a single deepfake image, as few as five to 10 clear photos of the person's face may be enough. For a video, hundreds or even thousands of frames are typically required, especially to capture different facial expressions, angles and lighting conditions. Gathering that much visual data might have been challenging in the past, but social media has made it easier than ever to access millions of public photos and videos of individuals. Considering that a 30-second video at 30 frames per second already gives you 900 frames to work with, deepfake creators have abundant training material at their fingertips. How to spot deepfakes The famous quote, often attributed to Edgar Allan Poe, goes, "Believe nothing of what you hear and only half that you see." Well, with the advancement of deepfakes, we might not be able to believe anything we see anymore, either. Like other AI detection tools, deepfake video detection methods are still unreliable. Rochester Institute of Technology started the DeFake Project against digital deception. They built a forensic tool that helps journalists analyze and verify deepfake technology. Matthew Wright, an endowed professor and chair of the department of cybersecurity at RIT, tells CNET it's "very hard these days" to discern real video from a deepfake. "There's no AI system that's really going to be able to understand the full context of what the video is, who's depicted in it and what the relationship is to the channel that posted it," Wright says. "Is there any kind of consent documentation? There's just so many things that would go into that kind of automated decision-making." While tech-savvy people might be more vigilant about spotting deepfakes, regular folks need to be more cautious. I asked John Sohrawardi, a computing and information sciences Ph.D. student leading the DeFake Project, about common ways to recognize a deepfake. He advised people to look at the mouth to see if the teeth are garbled." Is the video more blurry around the mouth? Does it feel like they're talking about something very exciting but act monotonous? That's one of the giveaways of more lazy deepfakes." Sohrawardi says if it's a bad face-swap deepfake, you would have edges of the face or even an extra eyebrow appearing. "Another giveaway," he continues, "is if there's an obstruction in front of the face, like a microphone or a hand, or if a person turns away, the face goes away for a bit if they face an extreme angle." Kelly Wu, a computing and information sciences doctoral student at RIT who is also involved with the project, adds, "There's kind of like synchronization issues with the mouth. You can listen to the audio and see if the mouth actually moves along with the audio. That's a very easy way to tell if there's lip-syncing happening behind it." Controversies and cybercrime via deepfakes The rise of deepfake technology has sparked major concerns, particularly in areas like misinformation and political manipulation. While a deepfake of Donald Trump and Elon Musk dancing together might seem funny (or not), AI-generated videos have also been used to create fake political speeches, hoaxes and propaganda. Another misuse of deepfakes is for fraud and scams. "Right now, audio deepfake scams are the most popular because audio is the best form, with the least artifacts and problems with it," Wright says. "So it's the easiest to fool people." Deepfake phone scams have fooled victims into believing they're talking to a real family member who has been kidnapped. This is known as the family emergency scam, and has reportedly caused affected families to lose tens of thousands of dollars. One of the biggest ethical issues with deepfakes is their use in nonconsensual videos, especially deepfake pornography. Celebrities and public figures have been frequent targets, but even private individuals, including minors, have been affected by AI-generated fake content appearing online. One of those children was Francesca Mani, who Time named one of The 100 Most Influential People in AI 2024 for her anti-deepfake activism. Francesca and her mother, Dorota Mani, have been campaigning for changes in policies around AI. "Too often, the focus is on how to protect yourself, but we need to shift the conversation to the responsibility of those who create and distribute harmful content," Dorota Mani tells CNET, when asked what advice she would give to girls and women facing these threats. "The burden shouldn't only be on the victims to prevent this from happening. Stand up for your rights, challenge the narrative and don't accept being silenced or blamed for someone else's violation of your autonomy." To help combat the spread of deepfake pornography and other nonconsensual intimate imagery, the Take It Down Act passed through Congress and was signed into law on Monday by President Donald Trump. The bill requires platforms to remove reported content within 48 hours. "This legislation is a powerful step forward in our efforts to ensure that every American, especially young people, can feel better protected from their image or identity being abused through nonconsensual, intimate imagery," First Lady Melania Trump, who has been an advocate of the Act, said at the signing ceremony. The new law is a "game-changer," Dorota Mani said, because it gives "power back to victims ... ensuring that they have a clear and swift path to justice." While it's a big step forward, critics say the damage often happens before takedown, as harmful content can quickly be downloaded and shared beyond control. L-R: Francesca Mani, Elliston Berry, US First Lady Melania Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL). Photo shared with CNET by Dorota Mani How tech companies are handling deepfakes Tech platforms like TikTok and YouTube have implemented AI detection tools that can flag or even ban manipulated media, requiring AI-generated content to be labeled as such to prevent deception. Meta has adjusted the AI labeling approach on its social platforms (Facebook, Instagram and Threads) in September 2024. The "AI info" label is now displayed prominently only for fully AI-generated content, including cases identified by industry signals or self-disclosure. For content merely edited or modified by AI, Meta has relocated the "AI info" label to the post's menu. Meta AI, though, automatically labels its own AI-generated content as such. Google announced it would remove explicit nonconsensual deepfakes from its Search upon user request. Microsoft last year asked lawmakers to make deepfakes illegal. Positive use cases for deepfakes There are some positive use cases for deepfakes. While they will most likely be used in entertainment, like ageing or reverse-ageing actors in movies and TV series, they also have the potential for immersive education and trauma therapy. For example, you could interact with digital versions of lost loved ones or confront past abusers in a controlled setting. Deepfakes could also benefit the gaming and fashion industries by enabling the creation of personalized avatars using one's own face. One of the coolest deepfake applications is Salvador Dalí's Museum in Florida, where visitors can interact with a lifelike AI version of Dalí, watch him talk about his art and even take a selfie with the artist. As deepfakes advance, verifying sources and staying skeptical is the best defense against malicious AI deception.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Denzel Washington's demons: What's behind the star's outburst on the Cannes red carpet
Married for more than 40 years to the woman he met on the set of his first ever film who eschews the limelight despite being one of the most celebrated actors of his generation, Denzel Washington has long been considered one of the true 'nice guys' in Hollywood. The father-of-four describes himself as a 'simple guy' who tries to 'do the right thing' and 'doesn't want movie star friends'. So it was all the more surprising to fans to see the Oscar winner's mask apparently slip on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet as he lashed out at an overzealous photographer while attending the premiere of his movie Highest 2 Lowest on Monday. However, beneath the serene surface, the actor is a more complicated character and has fought a number of personal battles, including struggles with drugs and alcohol. Despite his film career that's won him two Oscars, three Golden Globes and an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, he's not naturally comfortable in the limelight and last year remonstrated with fans who were waiting for him outside the Museum of Modern Art at an event honouring Samuel L. Jackson. Despite his movie star status, the actor doesn't see himself as a celebrity and has previously insisted he doesn't know what 'Hollywood' means. On Monday night, he had an altercation with a photographer on the red carpet who appeared to grab the actor's arm to get his attention. As Denzel turned to the photographer he appeared to shout: 'Hey, one — one more time, stop. 'Let me tell you — stop, stop — never put your hands on me again,' he appears to shout at the photographer, who had a bizarre grin plastered on his face throughout the exchange. 'I'm talking to you, stop, all right,' he continued. The photographer replied to Denzel by saying: 'Not allowed,' before laughing and adding, 'Yes, yes, yes.' Despite the actor's emphatic words and body language, the photographer could be seen grabbing at Denzel again in the clip, and asked, 'Can I take a picture?' Denzel, who appeared completely fed up at that point, shouted back: 'Stop, stop it, stop it. I mean it. Stop, stop it.' Despite the intensity of his words, many of the photographers surrounding Denzel — including the one he was yelling at — were smiling, suggesting that they may not have realized how upset he was. The actor then pulled out of the press conference for Highest 2 Lowest after the tense exchange. However, the actor has a long history of tense interactions with photographers over the years. Denzel was filmed in an altercation with autograph hunters in New York City in October 2024. The Oscar-winning actor snapped at fans as he arrived at the Museum of Modern Art for a film benefit honoring Samuel L. Jackson - with the tense exchange captured in a dramatic video. The Man on Fire star was seen arriving at the museum and posing with a fan - while autograph hunters called his name to the side. A visibly annoyed Washington went to walk inside but then turned and addressed a fan in the crowd. While the entire exchange cannot be deciphered, the actor was seen pointing his finger and heard saying: 'I heard you. You talk about showing love...' '...Respecting me' to which the fan said 'we already do.' Washington retorted: 'I said I'll see you when I get out, which part of that don't y'all understand? 'It's about showing love' - before raising his voice and declaring 'or not, or not! we can do it another way... or not, we can do it both ways!' He then walked inside the building after the incident. And in 2021 Washington was pictured having an intense moment with a fan. The movie star was by his car when the fan walked over to him with a sack of photos for him to sign in New York City. The pair engaged in an intense conversation with the actor looking like he was given the fan some pearls of wisdom. He placed his hands on his shoulder and looked deep in his eyes, looking like he was forgetting to keep socially distanced for a second. While Denzel had his mask on, the fan had his pulled down to his chin for the moment as the Hollywood star placed his hands around his face. An onlooker claimed he told the fan to 'say a prayer' but it is not known what they were talking about. Denzel has also crossed hairs with colleagues in the past as Grey's Anatomy star Elen Pompeo revealed the pair shared words when he directed an episode of the series back in 2012. On her podcast Tell Me With Ellen Pompeo, the actress said they clashed after she improvised in a scene with another actor. Speaking with former co-star Patrick Dempsey, Ellen said that the actor she was working with 'made this choice to speak very softly,' and Washington yelled at her after she gave the actor instruction. 'I was like, 'Look at me when you apologize. Look at me.' And that wasn't in the dialogue,' Pompeo said. 'And Denzel went ham on my a**. He was like, 'I'm the director. Don't you tell him what to do.'' 'I was like, 'Listen, motherf***er, this is my show, this is my set. Who are you telling?'' Ellen said she has the 'utmost respect for [Washington] as an actor and director,' and chalked up their clash to the nature of the business. 'We didn't get through it without a fight, but that's actors for you,' Pompeo said. 'Passionate and fiery and that's where you get the magic, and that's where you get the good stuff. So, it was an amazing experience, it really was.' Ellen added that she told Washington's wife Pauletta Washington about the exchange. She said: 'I told his wife, I was like, 'Yeah, he yelled at me today. He let me have it today, and I'm not OK with him, and I'm not looking at him, and I'm not talking to him.'' However, relations are good between the pair with Denzel later admitting to Variety he didn't recall the exchange, adding: 'No, no ... but it's all good.' It has also been claimed Denzel once got into a heated argument with Sean ' Diddy ' Combs following a night of partying back in 2003. A source claimed to Us Weekly that 'Denzel screamed, 'You don't respect anyone'' at the hip hop mogul, who is currently awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. '[Denzel and his wife, Pauletta Washington] had been partying until dawn [with Diddy], and they had seen something and stormed out,' the source told the outlet. In the early 2000s, Washington and Diddy were seen out together on a number of occasions, including the 2001 Essence Awards, former President Barack Obama 's first inauguration in 2009 and two NBA games. It is unclear what the men were fighting about, but there is no indication that the fight is related to Diddy's current criminal charges. Denzel and Diddy's representatives have not returned requests for comment, at this time. Two decades after the alleged incident, Diddy is being held in custody at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Centre as he faces charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Denzel previously told how he believes he has 'done a lot of damage' to his body due to past drug and alcohol abuse. The actor, who has been sober for 10 years, recalled how his problems first began with wine. Speaking to Esquire, he said: 'Wine is very tricky. It's very slow. It ain't like boom, all of a sudden. On drugs, he added: 'I never got strung out on heroin. Never got strung out on coke. Never got strung out on hard drugs. I shot dope just like they shot dope, but I never got strung out. 'And I never got strung out on liquor. I had this ideal idea of wine tastings and all that — which is what it was at first. And that's a very subtle thing. I mean, I drank the best.' Denzel said he had a wine cellar in his home and would often spend thousands on pricey bottles, but was careful never to drink while he was working. He stopped drinking shortly after his 60th birthday. Despite all his succes, Denzel insisted he doesn't see himself as a celebrity or movie star and considers himself a stage actor primarily. Speaing to CBS Sunday Morning, he explained, 'I'm a stage actor who does film; it's not the other way around. I did stage first. I learned how to act on stage, not on film. Movies are a filmmaker's medium. 'You shoot it, and then you're gone, and they cut together and add music and do all of that. Theater is an actor's medium. The curtain goes up, nobody can help you.'
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Extras: Trailer, certificate and where to watch
Ricky Gervais's cameo-packed BBC comedy with Kate Winslet, Samuel L Jackson, David Bowie and many more Year: 2005-2007
