Latest news with #Savages
Straits Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
TV & Film Picks: Tastefully Yours, SEC Environmental Film Festival, The Assessment
Tastefully Yours Netflix Do not attempt to watch this South Korean romantic comedy on an empty stomach. The culinary creations featured hav e propelled the 10-episode series to the top spot on Netflix's list of Top 10 TV programmes in Singapore. Apart from fine-dining dishes and traditional Korean fare, Tastefully Yours coasts on the sizzling chemistry between its lead actors. Actor Kang Ha-neul plays spoilt restaurateur Beom-woo, while actress Go Min-si is gifted chef Yeon-joo. Beom-woo is on a quest to find that signature dish that will give his posh restaurant Motto a three-star rating from the Diamant Guide, the show's take on a Michelin Guide. He chances upon Yeon-joo's tin y d iner, and is impressed by her farm-to-table cuisine. He offers to acquire her place, but despite being deep in debt, she is not selling. It is a no-brainer that the bickering pair will fall in love. Tastefully Yours is filled with familiar K-drama tropes, but the simple narrative and visually appealing food – such as traditional Korean beef dishes neobiani and seopsanjeok – make the show more appetising. SEC Environmental Film Festival In celebration of World Environment Day on June 5, the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) has partnere d t he Singapore Film Society to host a three-day festival. It will f eature three films that address global environmental challenges. French stop-motion animation Savages (2024) by Oscar-nominated director Claude Barras will open the festiv al. Set in a tropical forest in Borneo, the movie revolves around two childre n and a rescued baby orangut an, and how they cope with deforestation. French stop-motion animation Savages is the opening film for SEC Environmental Film Festival. PHOTO: BEAST ANIMATION A Crack In The Mountain (2022) is an award-winning documentary about the struggles to preserve Vietnam's Hang Son Doong, the largest cave in the world. It is located in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site. The film seeks to address how a natural wonder can be exploited for tourism dollars and the challenges of environmental conservation. The festival will close with Future Council (2024), a documentary that follows eight Australian children on a school excursion across Europe to seek solutions to the climate crisis. Together with director Damon Gameau, their mission is to better understand the planet's predicament and explore solutions with some of the world's largest polluters and influential companies. Proceeds from the SEC Environmental Film Festival will go to the council's outreach programmes in schools. As the SEC is a registered charit y, m ovie ticket sales are eligible for tax rebates. Where: GV Suntec City, 03-373 Suntec City, 3 Temasek Boulevard MRT: Promenade When: June 5 to 7, 7pm daily Admission: $50 Info: The Assessment (M18) 116 minutes, Amazon Prime ★★★★☆ Set in a future society post-environmental collap se, w here the population is strictly regulated due to resource scarcity, the science-fiction thriller follow s m arried couple Mia (Elizabeth Olsen) and Aaryan (Himesh Patel) as they are assessed on their eligibility to be parents. The official assessor Virginia (Alicia Vikander) puts the couple through seven days of psychological torment by role-playing a wilful toddler. For instance, she pees on a dinner guest and flings food at 'mummy' Mia in temper tantrums. What she is doing is testing Mia's and Aaryan's underlying insecurities to break them emotionally. Not since she was an android seducing a hapless programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) in the 2014 British sci-fi flick Ex Machina has Vikander been this manipulative and sinister. Here is another extraordinary performance by the Swedish actress. Olsen and Patel are also very good, reacting with a mix of discombobulation and distress as the black comedy in their unnerving three-hander turns to horror. – Whang Yeeling Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Boston Globe
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Late Boston rock critic Steve Morse to be honored with tribute concert
Steve Morse, the 'He was a wonderful man,' said Jessa Piaia, Morse's fiancée at the time of his death, in a recent phone conversation. He treated everyone well, she said: 'He was a good listener.' That was the job description for Morse's career. As the Globe's chief rock critic from 1978-2005, Morse attended thousands of concerts, championed hundreds of Boston-based musicians, and interviewed many of the best-known rock stars on the planet. On May 22, Sally O'Brien's will host a tribute to Morse featuring one of his favorite bands, Barrence Whitfield and the Savages. Proceeds will benefit Advertisement Morse 'knew everyone, and everyone knew him,' said Frank Coakley, the talent booker at Sally O'Brien's. They first met years ago, when Coakley was working as a soundman for musicians — Dennis Brennan, Tim Gearan, David Johnston — that Morse admired. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'He and Nick used to sit right behind me' at the sound booth, he said. It was Coakley who approached Piaia about organizing a night to honor Morse. She knew that her fiancé would have wanted the Savages to play, and the band said yes immediately. 'He always supported, from day one, what we did,' said Whitfield, adding that Morse brought 'his tall self' to as many of Whitfield's gigs as he could get to. (The writer stood at least 6-foot-5.) 'I still have some articles he wrote early on,' Whitfield said. 'He'd demand people — 'You gotta see this band. It's your duty to see some real rock 'n' roll.'' Advertisement Whitfield and Savages bassist Phil Lenker often spent time at Morse's place watching basketball games. After Morse's wife, Nell Rotow Morse, died from complications of diabetes in 2001, Whitfield sang at her memorial service. 'We were so lucky to have him,' Whitfield said. 'I can't think of anybody else who did so much for the music scene in Boston.' Morse served on the nominating committee for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where he advocated in vain for the inclusion of the 'He really wanted them in the Hall of Fame, and I think we should put them in,' said Whitfield. Savages guitarist Peter Greenberg, who will travel to Boston from his home in Washington D.C. for the benefit, recalled a trip to the long-gone Trader Alan's Truck Stop in Amesbury sometime in the 1970s. Morse knew that Greenberg, then a member of DMZ alongside Jeff 'Monoman' Conolly, loved rockabilly, so he drove them to see the canyon-voiced former Sun Records recording artist Sleepy LaBeef. 'Steve introduced us, and he invited us up to play some Bo Diddley songs,' Greenberg remembered. 'Jeff played maracas.' Morse liked to say that he attended at least 250 live events each year. On one of Piaia's first dates with Morse, they saw the Duppy Conquerors, a Bob Marley tribute band, at the Burren. Morse took her to many shows, she said, including twice to see Bonnie Raitt. Advertisement Piaia, who is a performer herself — she created a series of monologues to portray 'I knew Nick from when he was a little kid,' said Whitfield. 'He developed a wonderful talent. Steve was very proud of his son. He supported him 100 percent.' Piaia, who was a neighbor of Morse's years ago, had reconnected with him after she signed up for his online course on rock history at Berklee College of Music. The section she was assigned was taught by Jim Horan, but Piaia made it known she was acquainted with Morse, who authored the class. 'Steve is a local treasure,' she recalls Horan saying. 'He's a raconteur.' Morse had, he said, 'lived this life.' James Sullivan can be reached at . A MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO STEVE MORSE FEATURING BARRENCE WHITFIELD AND THE SAVAGES 7:30 p.m. May 22 at Sally O'Brien's, 335 Somerville Ave., Somerville. $20.
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Blake Lively's new BFF Salma Hayek breaks silence on friendship after Taylor Swift cut ties with star
Blake Lively 's new BFF Salma Hayek suddenly has a lot to say about what a great friend the actress is after Taylor Swift cut ties with her. The It Ends With Us star, 37, enjoyed a girls night out with Hayek, 55, this week and now the Oscar nominee is waxing lyrical about their bond. She told E! News she had been close pals with Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds for a 'long time' was 'close' with their four children. 'I got a chance to go play with them. They got to see their Tía Salma. Hayek revealed the children speak Spanish, 'especially the little one' referring to the couple's only son Olin, two. The Frida actress has previously praised Lively's 'courage' at Variety's Power of Women event in 2017. She said: 'I still have never met anybody that at such an early stage in their life had such a sense of self, so much courage. 'I mean, I saw her take on one of the biggest bullies in this industry that everybody feared. She was like, 'Bring it on, baby. What's your problem?' She knows exactly what she wants.' The actresses starred together 2012 film Savages while Reynolds worked with Hayek on 2017's The Hitman's Bodyguard and its 2021 sequel Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard. This week Lively was spotted heading out with Hayek as well as sister Robyn. The A-lister's resurfaced friendship comes as a source exclusively tells that Blake's once-inseparable friend Swift 'is done' with her after feeling she had been 'exploited.' Blake's outing with her squad 2.0 marks the first time she has been seen in public since exclusively reported that she allegedly threatened to leak embarrassing private text messages from her former bestie Taylor unless the pop star agreed to publicly back her in her feud with Justin. The explosive revelation appeared in a legal letter filed Wednesday by Baldoni's lawyers, in response to Lively's request to quash their subpoena to the singer. The court filing alleges that the Gossip Girl alum had tried to pressure Swift to issue a public statement in support of her and urged her to delete text messages between them during her escalating legal battle with Baldoni, 41. This week's outing appears to be the first time Blake and Salma have been pictured together in public in years. Taylor's camp slammed the subpoena as they argue that she was not very involved in the drama on set of 2024 film It Ends With Us; Taylor and Blake are seen in New York back in September 2023 Also joining Blake's squad was her older half-sister Robyn Lively — an actress in her own right — who has been a steady source of support amid her legal drama. And despite reconstituting her squad, it wasn't just a girls' night out, as Blake's husband Ryan Reynolds was also joining the ladies for dinner. Blake showed off a casual-cool look with a tasteful dark-gray Prince of Wales check sport coat. The jacket hung loosely on her, and she rolled up her overly long sleeves slightly to reveal the satin lining. The Simple Favor star wore an intriguing brown-and-white shirt jacket with a rectangular grid design underneath, and she left it open to reveal a ribbed cream-colored tank top below it. Blake tucked the figure-hugging shirt into her black leather pants, which had a relaxed fit and legs that billowed as she strutted under an overhang. She completed her ensemble with pointy brown leather boots and a slim but boxy Louis Vuitton handbag. Salma contrasted her with a folksy look featuring a dark-blue denim skirt and matching blouse, both of which featured thick buttons running up the front. The age-defying beauty — who recently made a splash on the cover of the latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue — wore a slim brown leather belt around her midriff to emphasize her trim figure. Her belt matched her round-toed brown leather boots, which also complemented Blake's boots. Salma lightened up the dark ensemble with a white satin patterned scarf tied around her throat and fanned out dramatically over her chest. She wore her lustrous raven locks down to frame her thick black nerd-chic glasses. Robyn's style hewed close to Salma's denim outfit, as she wore high-waisted blue jeans, though in a lighter wash. She tucked in a white tank top with a shallow V-neck and wore an unbuttoned denim western shirt in the same shade over it. The Twin Peaks actress completed her look with a cozy gray cardigan and playful white high-top sneakers. Blake's husband didn't stay in lockstep with the women but wasn't far from them. The Deadpool & Wolverine star looked cool and relaxed with a black button-up shirt and a slim charcoal zip-up jacket. Although Blake and Salma tend to keep a low public profile, their friendship extends back to the early 2010s, when they starred in Oliver Stone's thriller Savages (2012). The ensemble piece, which also stars John Travolta, Benicio del Toro, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Taylor Kitsch, featured Salma as a Mexican drug cartel boss who kidnaps Blake's character, the girlfriend of Americans trying to run their own drug operation. It didn't hurt that Salma also had a friendship with Blake's husband after starring with him in The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017), as well as its 2021 sequel. The same year that the first film was released, Salma shared a humorous Instagram post showing herself stirring a pot while holding one of Blake and Ryan's children in her other arm. 'When your friends invite you for dinner and you end up doing all the work,' she joked in her caption. A year earlier, she posted on Instagram about a night out with Blake and her sister Robyn in which they had the unorthodox sweet treat of 'chocolate marshmallow pizza.' Salma has also praised Blake for public speaking out about the disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein's sex crimes. Blake turned toward other friends and family as a source tells exclusively that Taylor is 'done' with their friendship after feeling she was 'exploited' by her former friend. Last week, a representative for the pop superstar shared a blistering response to after she was subpoenaed as a witness in Blake and Justin Baldoni's legal battle. 'Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history,' they said. The latest twist that Blake allegedly threatened to leak Taylor's text messages sheds further light on the collapse of their once-close friendship, which has gone cold amid the actress's high-stakes lawsuit involving the actor. Since then, both Swift and Lively have been subpoenaed for communications about the case, despite the superstar's attempts to distance herself from the furor. In the letter to the judge obtained by Baldoni's legal team, led by Bryan Freedman, hit back at Lively's 'wrong' claims that the proposed subpoena to Swift 'seeks irrelevant documents.' Freedman argued that it aims to obtain information 'relating to witness tampering and evidence spoliation,' specifically that Lively had attempted 'coerce' Swift into publicly siding with her. According to the letter, Baldoni's attorneys received information that '(i) Ms. Lively requested that Taylor Swift delete their text messages' - which, according to inside sources, may have contained details from over a decade of friendship, relationships, and private confidences. It also claims Lively's lawyer Michael Gottlieb had contacted Swift's attorney and demanded 'that Ms. Swift release a statement of support for Ms. Lively, intimating that, if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively's possession would be released.' In response, Swift's reps purportedly addressed Lively's 'inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats in at least one written communication' sent to Gottlieb, according to Freedman. 'It is those communications that [Baldoni's team] seeks to obtain by way of subpoena, as they would evidence an attempt to intimidate and coerce a percipient witness in this litigation', the letter states. Swift, whose hit song 'My Tears Ricochet' was featured on the soundtrack of the 2024 film It Ends With Us, was pulled into the rollercoaster saga earlier this year when Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation. Explosives text messages from Baldoni's complaint revealed Lively had referred to the superstar singer and her husband, as 'my dragons' in a bid to intimidate him over ill-fated flick It Ends With Us. Since then, Swift has reportedly been trying to distance herself from the scandal as well as her friendship with Lively. Those efforts have included icing Lively out of her inner circle while boyfriend Travis Kelce has unfollowed Reynolds on Instagram. The new revelation marks yet another bombshell twist in a case that has dragged in multiple A-listers and resulted in some legal zingers – among them Lively's dragon claim. The mom-of-four has also been accused of failing to read the novel on which the movie is based until well after filming started and forcing Baldoni and his family to sit in the basement during the premiere due to her refusal to be in the same room as him. On top of that, some of her allegations have begun to look dubious such as the claim that Baldoni had nuzzled her neck and told her 'you smell so good' during a dancing scene. Although the mom-of-four claimed it had been filmed with microphones off, obtained raw footage that showed the sound was on and that the conversation had instead been about the scent of Lively's fake tan. Attention has now turned to who else could be subpoenaed in the case, with Reynolds odds-on to have his communications scrutinized by Baldoni's team. Last week, speculation arose around Swift and Reynolds' friend Hugh Jackman with reports saying that they too are facing a legal grilling. Swift is reportedly furious over being dragged into the case and has not been photographed with Lively for months. Last week, her boyfriend Travis Kelce unfollowed Reynolds – who is currently celebrating his soccer team Wrexham's promotion to the English Football League Championship – in yet another sign that relations between the two couples have cooled. Although Kelce is unlikely to be slapped with a subpoena, one person who has already got one is publicist Stephanie Jones who is also being sued by Baldoni after she allegedly turned over a phone belonging to his publicist and her former employee, Jennifer Abel. The messages on the phone between Abel and crisis PR Melissa Nathan were later used as the basis for Lively's claims of a smear campaign, although Baldoni's team hit back saying the texts were selectively edited and released the conversations in full. Jones denied handing over the texts as a favor, arguing in court papers that she turned the device over only after receiving a subpoena last October. But her claims led to fresh embarrassment for Lively after revealed the subpoena had arisen from a 'sham' lawsuit filed by her company Vanzan against anonymous Does 1–10, which was dropped before the her sexual harassment case was filed. The revelation prompted a furious response from Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman who described the Vanzan suit as a 'sham.' 'Ms. Lively's and Mr. Reynolds' company Vanzan had nothing to do with this case and they knew it,' Freedman said in a statement. 'This sham lawsuit was designed to obtain subpoena power without oversight or scrutiny, and in doing so denied my clients the ability to contest the propriety, nature, and scope of the subpoena. 'There is nothing normal about this. Officers of the court have a duty of candor to the court and an obligation not to file fictitious lawsuits that have no basis in fact or law. 'This was done in bad faith and constitutes a flagrant abuse of process.' Last week, revealed that the superstar singer was left devastated when she was subpoenaed as a witness in the case. Despite putting on a brave face in Philadelphia this weekend — reportedly joining her boyfriend Travis Kelce and their respective moms for a Mother's Day lunch — it is understood that Swift has been 'completely floored' by the legal escalation and is now 'very upset.' And not least because she feels betrayed and 'exploited' by her longtime friend, Lively. Up until this year, Swift counted Lively among her closest confidantes. They live just a stone's throw away from each other in New York's trendy Tribeca neighborhood, and Swift is godmother to Lively's three daughters. But things soured in December when Lively sued Baldoni, her costar and director in the It Ends With Us movie adaptation of the popular Colleen Hoover novel. The film at the heart of the feud, based on the 2016 bestseller by Colleen Hoover, was released in August and was a box office hit The following month, when Baldoni filed a countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation, Swift was dragged into the mix. Contained in Baldoni's filing were screenshots of text messages and emails that named Swift. One particularly uncomfortable exchange allegedly shows Lively referring to herself as Khaleesi — a character in Game Of Thrones — and to Swift as one of her 'dragons.' Baldoni also claimed that Swift was present at a pivotal meeting about the movie, held by Lively and Reynolds at their New York penthouse. For her part, a source close to Swift has said she simply arrived to find the meeting underway and had no involvement.
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Blake Lively breaks cover with new-look squad after explosive claims she threatened to leak Taylor Swift texts
Blake Lively appears to have revamped her squad in the wake of her friendship with Taylor Swift imploding, and she's bringing in one of her longtime celebrity pals. The 37-year-old Gossip Girl star was spotted out on her way to dinner on Tuesday evening in New York City with Salma Hayek at her side. The 58-year-old Frida star has been a longtime fan and admirer of Blake's going back to when they appeared together onscreen in Savages (2012). The A-lister's resurfaced friendship comes as a source exclusively tells that Blake's once-inseparable friend 'is done' with her after feeling she had been 'exploited.' Blake's outing with her squad 2.0 marks the first time she has been seen in public since exclusively reported that she allegedly threatened to leak embarrassing private text messages from her former bestie Taylor unless the pop star agreed to publicly back her in her feud with Justin. The explosive revelation appeared in a legal letter filed Wednesday by Baldoni's lawyers, in response to Lively's request to quash their subpoena to the singer. The court filing alleges that the Gossip Girl alum had tried to pressure Swift to issue a public statement in support of her and urged her to delete text messages between them during her escalating legal battle with Baldoni, 41. This week's outing appears to be the first time Blake and Salma have been pictured together in public in years. Also joining Blake's squad was her older half-sister Robyn Lively — an actress in her own right — who has been a steady source of support amid her legal drama. And despite reconstituting her squad, it wasn't just a girls' night out, as Blake's husband Ryan Reynolds was also joining the ladies for dinner. Blake showed off a casual-cool look with a tasteful dark-gray Prince of Wales check sport coat. The jacket hung loosely on her, and she rolled up her overly long sleeves slightly to reveal the satin lining. The Simple Favor star wore an intriguing brown-and-white shirt jacket with a rectangular grid design underneath, and she left it open to reveal a ribbed cream-colored tank top below it. Blake tucked the figure-hugging shirt into her black leather pants, which had a relaxed fit and legs that billowed as she strutted under an overhang. But this week's outing appears to be the first time they've been pictured together in public in years, though they've shared social media photos of their evenings together previously She completed her ensemble with pointy brown leather boots and a slim but boxy Louis Vuitton handbag. Salma contrasted her with a folksy look featuring a dark-blue denim skirt and matching blouse, both of which featured thick buttons running up the front. The age-defying beauty — who recently made a splash on the cover of the latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue — wore a slim brown leather belt around her midriff to emphasize her trim figure. Her belt matched her round-toed brown leather boots, which also complemented Blake's boots. Salma lightened up the dark ensemble with a white satin patterned scarf tied around her throat and fanned out dramatically over her chest. She wore her lustrous raven locks down to frame her thick black nerd-chic glasses. Robyn's style hewed close to Salma's denim outfit, as she wore high-waisted blue jeans, though in a lighter wash. She tucked in a white tank top with a shallow V-neck and wore an unbuttoned denim western shirt in the same shade over it. The Twin Peaks actress completed her look with a cozy gray cardigan and playful white high-top sneakers. Blake's husband didn't stay in lockstep with the women but wasn't far from them. The Deadpool & Wolverine star looked cool and relaxed with a black button-up shirt and a slim charcoal zip-up jacket. Although Blake and Salma tend to keep a low public profile, their friendship extends back to the early 2010s, when they starred in Oliver Stone's thriller Savages (2012). The ensemble piece, which also stars John Travolta, Benicio del Toro, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Taylor Kitsch, featured Salma as a Mexican drug cartel boss who kidnaps Blake's character, the girlfriend of Americans trying to run their own drug operation. It didn't hurt that Salma also had a friendship with Blake's husband after starring with him in The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017), as well as its 2021 sequel. The same year that the first film was released, Salma shared a humorous Instagram post showing herself stirring a pot while holding one of Blake and Ryan's children in her other arm. 'When your friends invite you for dinner and you end up doing all the work,' she joked in her caption. A year earlier, she posted on Instagram about a night out with Blake and her sister Robyn in which they had the unorthodox sweet treat of 'chocolate marshmallow pizza.' Salma has also praised Blake for public speaking out about the disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein's sex crimes. Blake turned toward other friends and family as a source tells exclusively that Taylor is 'done' with their friendship after feeling she was 'exploited' by her former friend. Last week, a representative for the pop superstar shared a blistering response to after she was subpoenaed as a witness in Blake and Justin Baldoni's legal battle. 'Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024 headlining the biggest tour in history,' they said. The latest twist that Blake allegedly threatened to leak Taylor's text messages sheds further light on the collapse of their once-close friendship, which has gone cold amid the actress's high-stakes lawsuit involving the actor. Since then, both Swift and Lively have been subpoenaed for communications about the case, despite the superstar's attempts to distance herself from the furor. In the letter to the judge obtained by Baldoni's legal team, led by Bryan Freedman, hit back at Lively's 'wrong' claims that the proposed subpoena to Swift 'seeks irrelevant documents.' Freedman argued that it aims to obtain information 'relating to witness tampering and evidence spoliation,' specifically that Lively had attempted 'coerce' Swift into publicly siding with her. According to the letter, Baldoni's attorneys received information that '(i) Ms. Lively requested that Taylor Swift delete their text messages' - which, according to inside sources, may have contained details from over a decade of friendship, relationships, and private confidences. It also claims Lively's lawyer Michael Gottlieb had contacted Swift's attorney and demanded 'that Ms. Swift release a statement of support for Ms. Lively, intimating that, if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively's possession would be released.' In response, Swift's reps purportedly addressed Lively's 'inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats in at least one written communication' sent to Gottlieb, according to Freedman. 'It is those communications that [Baldoni's team] seeks to obtain by way of subpoena, as they would evidence an attempt to intimidate and coerce a percipient witness in this litigation', the letter states. Swift, whose hit song 'My Tears Ricochet' was featured on the soundtrack of the 2024 film It Ends With Us, was pulled into the rollercoaster saga earlier this year when Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation. Explosives text messages from Baldoni's complaint revealed Lively had referred to the superstar singer and her husband, as 'my dragons' in a bid to intimidate him over ill-fated flick It Ends With Us. Since then, Swift has reportedly been trying to distance herself from the scandal as well as her friendship with Lively. Those efforts have included icing Lively out of her inner circle while boyfriend Travis Kelce has unfollowed Reynolds on Instagram. The new revelation marks yet another bombshell twist in a case that has dragged in multiple A-listers and resulted in some legal zingers – among them Lively's dragon claim. The mom-of-four has also been accused of failing to read the novel on which the movie is based until well after filming started and forcing Baldoni and his family to sit in the basement during the premiere due to her refusal to be in the same room as him. Read More EXCLUSIVE Blake Lively 'threatened' to leak Taylor Swift's texts unless she sided with her in Baldoni feud On top of that, some of her allegations have begun to look dubious such as the claim that Baldoni had nuzzled her neck and told her 'you smell so good' during a dancing scene. Although the mom-of-four claimed it had been filmed with microphones off, obtained raw footage that showed the sound was on and that the conversation had instead been about the scent of Lively's fake tan. Attention has now turned to who else could be subpoenaed in the case, with Reynolds odds-on to have his communications scrutinized by Baldoni's team. Last week, speculation arose around Swift and Reynolds' friend Hugh Jackman with reports saying that they too are facing a legal grilling. Swift is reportedly furious over being dragged into the case and has not been photographed with Lively for months. Blake Lively allegedly threatened bestie Taylor Swift with the release of embarrassing text messages if she failed to release a public statement in support of her, can exclusively reveal Lively allegedly demanded Swift, whose hit song is featured on the soundtrack of It Ends With Us, to publicly side with her in her ongoing feud with costar Justin Baldoni, according to a legal letter The bombshell revelation sheds further light on the collapse of Lively and Swift's friendship - which has gone cold amid the actress's ongoing legal battle with Baldoni Last week, her boyfriend Travis Kelce unfollowed Reynolds – who is currently celebrating his soccer team Wrexham's promotion to the English Football League Championship – in yet another sign that relations between the two couples have cooled. Although Kelce is unlikely to be slapped with a subpoena, one person who has already got one is publicist Stephanie Jones who is also being sued by Baldoni after she allegedly turned over a phone belonging to his publicist and her former employee, Jennifer Abel. The messages on the phone between Abel and crisis PR Melissa Nathan were later used as the basis for Lively's claims of a smear campaign, although Baldoni's team hit back saying the texts were selectively edited and released the conversations in full. Read More REVEALED: Blake Lively's mother was a stunning model Jones denied handing over the texts as a favor, arguing in court papers that she turned the device over only after receiving a subpoena last October. But her claims led to fresh embarrassment for Lively after revealed the subpoena had arisen from a 'sham' lawsuit filed by her company Vanzan against anonymous Does 1–10, which was dropped before the her sexual harassment case was filed. The revelation prompted a furious response from Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman who described the Vanzan suit as a 'sham.' 'Ms. Lively's and Mr. Reynolds' company Vanzan had nothing to do with this case and they knew it,' Freedman said in a statement. 'This sham lawsuit was designed to obtain subpoena power without oversight or scrutiny, and in doing so denied my clients the ability to contest the propriety, nature, and scope of the subpoena. Lively and Swift's friendship soured after the popstar got dragged into the actress's lawsuit against Baldoni, her costar and director in the It Ends With Us movie adaptation of the popular Colleen Hoover novel Last week, learned that Swift was left devastated when she was subpoenaed as a witness. Until this year, the two were close friends, with Swift being the godmother to Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively's three eldest children Swift - pictured with Blake in January 2024 - was dragged into the mix earlier this year, when Baldoni filed a countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation 'There is nothing normal about this. Officers of the court have a duty of candor to the court and an obligation not to file fictitious lawsuits that have no basis in fact or law. 'This was done in bad faith and constitutes a flagrant abuse of process.' Last week, revealed that the superstar singer was left devastated when she was subpoenaed as a witness in the case. Read More Scarlett Johansson breaks silence on ex Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively's lawsuit Despite putting on a brave face in Philadelphia this weekend — reportedly joining her boyfriend Travis Kelce and their respective moms for a Mother's Day lunch — it is understood that Swift has been 'completely floored' by the legal escalation and is now 'very upset.' And not least because she feels betrayed and 'exploited' by her longtime friend, Lively. Up until this year, Swift counted Lively among her closest confidantes. They live just a stone's throw away from each other in New York's trendy Tribeca neighborhood, and Swift is godmother to Lively's three daughters. But things soured in December when Lively sued Baldoni, her costar and director in the It Ends With Us movie adaptation of the popular Colleen Hoover novel. In her December complaint, Lively claimed he had acted unprofessionally on the set of the domestic abuse movie It Ends With Us in which the pair starred and Baldoni also directed The film at the heart of the feud, based on the 2016 bestseller by Colleen Hoover, was released in August and was a box office hit The following month, when Baldoni filed a countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation, Swift was dragged into the mix. Contained in Baldoni's filing were screenshots of text messages and emails that named Swift. One particularly uncomfortable exchange allegedly shows Lively referring to herself as Khaleesi — a character in Game Of Thrones — and to Swift as one of her 'dragons.' Baldoni also claimed that Swift was present at a pivotal meeting about the movie, held by Lively and Reynolds at their New York penthouse. For her part, a source close to Swift has said she simply arrived to find the meeting underway and had no involvement.
RTÉ News
22-04-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
Eden's Shore - read an extract 10 April
We present an extrract from Eden's Shore, the new novel by Oisin Fagan, the acclaimed author of Nobber and the short story collection Savages. At the close of the 18th century, Angel Kelly, an Irishman, sets sail from Liverpool aboard The Atlas with the intention of creating a Utopian commune in Brazil. But when a mutiny takes place aboard the ship, he finds himself stranded upon the coast of an unnamed Spanish colony in Latin America... From its erratic trajectory, Lafcadio suspected the vessel in the distance to be a Hollow One, a ship unmanned by war, plague or tempest. If such was the case, he would send a party to board her, salvage what they might, requisition the log, and scuttle her, wearing scarves over their mouths to protect them from any noxious fevers therein. He ordered Quentin Cricklow to keep an eye on it, but then spent the rest of the day watching it himself. Once, in his youth, he had boarded a Dutch frigate that had been drifting along the coast of Senegal, weighted down by an acreage of barnacles, swarmed by a froth of diverse fishes, and dragging after her densely woven reams of seaweed. He had been the first to board, then; had hauled himself up by a knotted rope grappled to a cleat and spilled aboard. His boots echoed out across empty, tomblike decks. He rifled through defunct instruments; incomplete maps; rusted astrolabes; blunted, demagnetised compasses, the points dragging against the markings. The log was unreadable, a dried pool of inky pap; seven strands of blonde hair pressed between its disintegrating pages. The hold carried an algaed lagoon. Wind moaned through enormous holes in the sails. They had fluttered without interruption for more than a decade, by now so coated in salt they glimmered like a cave of crystals broken open to the sunlight. 'Marry, there she is, sir,' Cricklow said. 'If we set the course we should have her steering athwart our hawse afore nightfall.' 'Set it.' More loitering sailors joined Cricklow, passing a telescope amongst themselves. They followed it with their eyes and their ship until dusk, when a Swedish carpenter named Fuchs wiped down his spectacles on his trousers and put them in front of his face, at a good distance from his nose and said: 'No sloop, and she is too small in the hull to be French.' 'Ain't got no hull at all,' Cricklow said. 'Where is her mast?' 'La, she has two,' Cricklow said. By now a crowd had formed that blocked most of the larboard deck. Nearly fifty men had clambered onto hatches, bulwarks, up the rigging. A soft patina of invisible and unfelt rain glazed them. Angel pushed through this gathering, asking: 'Does anyone know where Jacques is, the boy Jacques?' Then he saw what seemed to be an island floating very slightly above sea level, its surface pocked with mussels and blankets of bulbous seaweed that adorned it like loosening flesh. It was something slick and animal, like the submerged hump of some rotting leviathan. An olive tree grew out of it, its trunk seven twisting branches. Grey leaves shivered relentlessly, their lighter underside flickering in and out of vision with the wind, giving the appearance of something trying to become something else; even the bark seemed to crawl with motion. On a low limb, almost hidden behind the latticed mesh of sprigs and leaves, was a small girl, perhaps nine or ten years old. She had her back pressed against the trunk, her arms around her knees, her shawl funnelling the wind. Out of reach of the tree's shade, a pale, one-eyed man had been crucified on the severed upper part of a mainmast. His body swayed constantly with the pitch and roll of the sea. The arms were wide across the spars; a loose shirt flapped across the emaciated body; whips of wet hair plastered across his cavernous cheeks, and his whole face was obscured in shade by a faded tricorne hat which had remained stuck on his head by way of a nail hammered through the top of his skull. 'El jardín,' Hieronimo said. ''Tis a wandering graveyard, la,' Cricklow said. A swell submerged the surface, making it seem like the tree and the crucifix had been discharged, fully formed, from the depths. They tilted back and forth, bursts of whitened water splashing them, and then, like a sigh of release, the bubbling water hissed its way out through the wefts in the seaweed, and then there was the foamy rush of the breaching, the displaced water exploding about it. 'It is the hull of a capsized vessel, in putrefaction,' Lafcadio said. 'It is the fruit of mutiny, only. They have been cast away. This man was the captain, and she must have been—' Angel looked away suddenly, having noticed something terrible. There was a noise above; eyes strained upwards. Jacques hung off a sheet, a figure-of-eight coil around his shoulder. 'No, Jacques,' Lafcadio shouted. 'Look.' He gestured at the crucified man whose head was slouched forward now, the tricorne an inverted black triangle where his face had been; Angel noticed for the first time that the dead man's trousers were flapping wildly, like untethered lines. There were no feet hanging down, the trousers unfilled; only the upper half of a man hung there. 'Get down, Jacques,' Angel called. 'Come down, now.' Jacques cast the rope, and it landed amidst a tumbling clump of black seaweed. 'Prends-la, 'moiselle,' Jacques shouted. The wind rose in an ache; the girl didn't come down from the tree. As the Atlas pushed on, the rope wound its way through the reams of seaweed, its knotted end bouncing, and then it plopped back into the sea, and dragged through the water where it created a white rushing furrow in the form of a cobra's hood. Then they were past it. Jacques looked at the disappointed length of rope in his hands, and then found himself on his back, pulled down by Lafcadio. The first mate knelt over him, and commenced slapping him, open-palmed, across the face. Sailors clustered around them like clotting blood, their faces a mass of indistinguishable shadows in the drab evening. Jacques glanced around, blinking dizzily. 'Sir,' he said. 'A child.' 'A cannibal,' Lafcadio said. He slapped him twice more, and then left off. The tree and the crucifix cast a faint, joined shadow against the water, and then they, too, became shade. Soon all that was visible were two vertical lines rearing thinly out of the sea, a throbbing spot, stalking closely the water, obscured by every slight pitch of the ship. Jacques writhed on deck, his mouth and nose bleeding. 'Angel,' he said. 'Angel, please.' As Angel was moving through the crowd, Lafcadio touched the underside of his chin so he was looking up directly into his face. They stared at each other silently. Eventually, the first mate folded his hands behind his back, stepped aside, and Angel helped Jacques up and led him back to his own quarters.
