Latest news with #Spacek
Yahoo
03-08-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Citroen 2CV lovers gather in Slovenia to take the slow road
Fans of an iconic French car gather this week in Slovenia to reclaim a slow, stress-free way of life where repairs are easy and cars are slow. "Once you sit down, all the stress from your office is gone," Karmen Uglesic, one of the organisers of this year's 25th world meeting of Citroen 2CV fans, told AFP. "You stop worrying and simply enjoy," she said. As head of the Slovenian parliament's public relations office, Uglesic has more than 20 years' experience working with politicians and managing events as the tiny former Yugoslav state transitioned into a fully fledged member of the European Union and NATO. Preparing for retirement, Uglesic says she owes her mental well-being to her passion for the "Spacek", or "little freak". That is what one journalist, bewildered by the car's appearance, called the 2CV when it appeared in the Yugoslav market in the early 50s. "When I get home from work and my husband asks me if I would go for a ride with our 'Spacek', I'm immediately for it! I put on my Citroen T-shirt, open the foldable roof and go for it," Uglesic said. - 'A different world' - The Citroen 2CV was launched in 1948 as the French carmaker Citroen's answer to Germany's Volkswagen Beetle. The 2CV stands for "deux chevaux" (two horses), a reference to its original horsepower. Admired for its simplicity, utilitarian design and low-cost maintenance, more than five million 2CVs were built until 1990, when production stopped due to tougher emissions standards. Uglesic is one of more than 300 volunteers who organised the 25th world meeting of 2CV friends at an airfield near the Postojna cave, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the capital Ljubljana. The previous gathering was in Switzerland in 2023. "If you want to, you can repair it yourself thanks to the engine's simplicity," 55-year-old Italian Gabriele Salvoni told AFP. He was sitting with friends, drinking a beer, eating popcorn and surrounded by four 2CVs in different colours. His group did the 400-kilometres-long trip to Postojna driving at 80 to 90 kilometres per hour, letting traditional Italian supercars shoot past them. "This is a different world, we travel in peace, that is our way of living," Salvoni said proudly, displaying tatoos on his chest representing two 2CVs with the names of his two children. - 'A piece of art' - Their cars were parked in one of the many camping areas marked by organisers to leave space for more than 3,000 2CVs to parade around. The vehicles came in many colours -- some equipped with loudspeakers, others covered in rust, or in yellow with a giant duck on the roof. "This car is a piece of art," Uglesic said. "Many here take it as a white canvas on which you can paint whatever you like." As she spoke, a limousine-like 2CV, extended to double its usual length, passed by. The camp appeared to be a series of parties happening at the same time but in perfect harmony. From time to time, a column of cars formed to drive along the kilometre-plus main "road" separating two sides of the camp. They sounded their horns as passers-by sang along to the music from their loudspeakers. Many of the participants were not even born when 2CV production stopped. "It was my dream for years," 26-year-old freelance artist Jamie said as she sat with her 32-year-old boyfriend Mike under a tent hanging from her blue 2CV. "I went to France and I fell in love with the car." - 'Chill a bit' - Mike, who works in aircraft maintenance, is teaching her to repair it herself. He admitted that, when it rained, their recently restored foldable roof "drips a little, but just on one side, but we don't really mind". They drove from Hamburg in Germany, where highways have some of the fastest speed limits in the world. "I don't mind being the slow one on the highway," Jamie said. "I think it's better to slow down. Maybe they should learn something from us: to chill a bit." Not far away, 16-year-old Aleksandar Dincic from Vranje in Serbia and his father were checking out a tent where 2CV spare parts were being sold. "I adore these cars, they are very good and can easily be driven in the 21st century," Dincic said. And his father had promised him one for his 18th birthday, he added. "It's a car that you drive with pleasure," he said with a smile. bk/gv/jj
France 24
03-08-2025
- Automotive
- France 24
Citroen 2CV lovers gather in Slovenia to take the slow road
"Once you sit down, all the stress from your office is gone," Karmen Uglesic, one of the organisers of this year's 25th world meeting of Citroen 2CV fans, told AFP. "You stop worrying and simply enjoy," she said. As head of the Slovenian parliament's public relations office, Uglesic has more than 20 years' experience working with politicians and managing events as the tiny former Yugoslav state transitioned into a fully fledged member of the European Union and NATO. Preparing for retirement, Uglesic says she owes her mental well-being to her passion for the "Spacek", or "little freak". That is what one journalist, bewildered by the car's appearance, called the 2CV when it appeared in the Yugoslav market in the early 50s. "When I get home from work and my husband asks me if I would go for a ride with our 'Spacek', I'm immediately for it! I put on my Citroen T-shirt, open the foldable roof and go for it," Uglesic said. 'A different world' The Citroen 2CV was launched in 1948 as the French carmaker Citroen's answer to Germany's Volkswagen Beetle. The 2CV stands for "deux chevaux" (two horses), a reference to its original horsepower. Admired for its simplicity, utilitarian design and low-cost maintenance, more than five million 2CVs were built until 1990, when production stopped due to tougher emissions standards. Uglesic is one of more than 300 volunteers who organised the 25th world meeting of 2CV friends at an airfield near the Postojna cave, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the capital Ljubljana. The previous gathering was in Switzerland in 2023. "If you want to, you can repair it yourself thanks to the engine's simplicity," 55-year-old Italian Gabriele Salvoni told AFP. He was sitting with friends, drinking a beer, eating popcorn and surrounded by four 2CVs in different colours. His group did the 400-kilometres-long trip to Postojna driving at 80 to 90 kilometres per hour, letting traditional Italian supercars shoot past them. "This is a different world, we travel in peace, that is our way of living," Salvoni said proudly, displaying tatoos on his chest representing two 2CVs with the names of his two children. 'A piece of art' Their cars were parked in one of the many camping areas marked by organisers to leave space for more than 3,000 2CVs to parade around. The vehicles came in many colours -- some equipped with loudspeakers, others covered in rust, or in yellow with a giant duck on the roof. "This car is a piece of art," Uglesic said. "Many here take it as a white canvas on which you can paint whatever you like." As she spoke, a limousine-like 2CV, extended to double its usual length, passed by. The camp appeared to be a series of parties happening at the same time but in perfect harmony. From time to time, a column of cars formed to drive along the kilometre-plus main "road" separating two sides of the camp. They sounded their horns as passers-by sang along to the music from their loudspeakers. Many of the participants were not even born when 2CV production stopped. "It was my dream for years," 26-year-old freelance artist Jamie said as she sat with her 32-year-old boyfriend Mike under a tent hanging from her blue 2CV. "I went to France and I fell in love with the car." 'Chill a bit' Mike, who works in aircraft maintenance, is teaching her to repair it herself. He admitted that, when it rained, their recently restored foldable roof "drips a little, but just on one side, but we don't really mind". They drove from Hamburg in Germany, where highways have some of the fastest speed limits in the world. "I don't mind being the slow one on the highway," Jamie said. "I think it's better to slow down. Maybe they should learn something from us: to chill a bit." Not far away, 16-year-old Aleksandar Dincic from Vranje in Serbia and his father were checking out a tent where 2CV spare parts were being sold. "I adore these cars, they are very good and can easily be driven in the 21st century," Dincic said. And his father had promised him one for his 18th birthday, he added. "It's a car that you drive with pleasure," he said with a smile. © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Detroit's Senate Theater throwing prom with a 'Carrie' theme to raise money for projector
"Carrie" set the bar for prom night scares (not to mention prom dress dry-cleaning bills) when it came out in 1976. The horror film that made Sissy Spacek a star will be a main attraction May 31 at the Carrie Prom at Detroit's Senate Theater. In case you're totally unfamiliar with pre-1980s pop culture, "Carrie" was directed by Brian De Palma and based on a Stephen King novel. It's about a high school student (Spacek) with telekinetic powers and a fanatically religious mom (the late Detroit native Piper Laurie) who frequently locks her daughter in a prayer closet. When Carrie's evening at the prom is ruined by a cruel prank that leaves her drenched in pig's blood, her supernatural powers erupt into a deadly bloodbath. The movie was a box office and critical hit, earning Oscar nominations for best actress for Spacek and best supporting actress for Laurie. Will those attending the Carrie Prom be encouraged to prom it up? "Oh, please!," laughingly exclaims Lindsay Robillard, treasurer of the Detroit Theater Organ Society, the volunteer nonprofit group dedicated to preserving the Senate Theater. As the Senate website notes, prom attire is not required, but patrons are strongly advised to "be sure to dress like it's whatever year it is that you definitely didn't peak." P.S.: For maximum authenticity, you can wear your actual prom outfit from back in the day, if you dare. The event will feature a live band, non-alcoholic punch at the concession stand (now there's a prom flashback), local art vendors and a photo spot for the taking of prom pictures. According to Robillard, who recently rewatched "Carrie," decorations like streamers and silver stars will evoke the Under the Stars theme of the movie's disastrous dance. And, of course, there will be an overture just prior to the screening on the Senate Theater's "Mighty Wurlitzer" organ. A prom court will be crowned during an intermission. "We've got some prizes donated from two of the best places probably to find a prom dress in the city, the Peacock Room and Flamingo Vintage," says Robillard. The bigger purpose of the party and screening is to raise money for a new projector for the historic theater, one of the few remaining Detroit movie houses from the 1920s. Specifically, the goal is to buy a DCI-compliant projector that meets the quality and security standards of the Digital Cinema Initiatives, a group formed by the major Hollywood studios. A new projector would allow the theater to "provide a higher-quality experience for Detroit-area film lovers and filmmakers" and "expand the kinds of films we're able to screen," says Robillard. Older projectors that are not DCI-compliant, like the Senate's current one, are no longer acceptable to distributors of first-run films and numerous classic titles. "We were going to try and play (director Hayao Miyazaki's 1989 animated film) 'Kiki's Delivery Service' last year and they were like, 'Not with that projector, you're not,'" recalls Robillard. More: 2025 Michigan Shakespeare Festival canceled. What the nonprofit group is saying The Senate Theater is one of several sites helping to fill the gaps left in the region's art house theater scene left by the loss of the Maple Theater in Bloomfield Township and Main Art Theater in Royal Oak. And for one night during the Carrie Prom, as the Senate description puts it, it's the place to be "whether your prom was a night to remember or just a nightmare." Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@ More: Kid Rock opening Nashville restaurant, takes jab at some old foes back in Detroit 6 p.m.-midnight May 31. Film screening starts at 8 p.m. Senate Theater 6424 Michigan Ave., Detroit $15 at Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit's Senate Theater throwing 'Carrie'-themed prom to raise money
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Awards Chatter' Pod: Sissy Spacek on Her J.Law Collab ‘Die My Love,' the ‘New Hollywood' of the '70s and the Penises in ‘Dying for Sex'
For the fourth annual recording of The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast in front of an audience in the Campari Lounge of the Palais during the Cannes Film Festival, the legendary actress Sissy Spacek joined yours truly for an hourlong conversation about her remarkable life and career. Spacek, a youthful 75, reflected on her journey from small-town Texas to Hollywood (and then to a farm in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she has resided since 1982); her involvement in the 'New Hollywood' of the '70s and early '80s, including massively acclaimed performances in 1973's Badlands, 1976's Carrie, 1977's Three Women, 1980's Coal Miner's Daughter (which brought her a best actress Oscar) and 1982's Missing; and the recently deceased filmmaker David Lynch, a childhood friend of Spacek's husband Jack Fisk and a friend of hers for some 50 years, whose breakthrough 1977 film, Eraserhead, she and Fisk helped to finance, and in whose 1999 film The Straight Story she starred. More from The Hollywood Reporter Billy Joel Shares Brain Disorder Diagnosis 'Lilo & Stitch' Now Soaring to Record $170M-$180M Memorial Day Box Office Bow Pop Star King Princess Didn't Think She Could Be an Actress (Then She Talked to a Psychic) She also discussed her latest project, Lynne Ramsay's Die My Love, which premiered in competition at Cannes just hours after this conversation took place, and which shortly thereafter was acquired by Mubi in the biggest sale of the festival. In the dark drama, Spacek plays the wife of a character played by Nick Nolte (with whom she previously acted in 1980's Heart Beat and 1997's Affliction), the mother of a character played by Robert Pattinson and the mother-in-law of a woman in the throes of severe post-partum depression, played by fellow Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence. Die My Love brought about Spacek's first trip to the Cannes Film Festival in 26 years, following three previous visits, each in different decades — for Three Women, Missing and The Straight Story. The general consensus at the fest was that Spacek's performance in the new film could bring her the seventh Oscar nomination of her career, which would be her first first in 24 years, and her first ever in the category of best supporting actress. Her earlier noms, all in the best actress category, came for Carrie, Coal Miner's Daughter, Missing, 1984's The River, 1986's Crimes of the Heart and 2001's In the Bedroom. Only six living women have accumulated seven or more acting Oscar noms: Meryl Streep (21), Cate Blanchett (8), Judi Dench (8), Glenn Close (8), Jane Fonda (7) and Kate Winslet (7). Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
School levies pass with strong margins in North Idaho
May 21—Voters approved levies for five North Idaho school districts Tuesday, reversing a trend for some districts that have struggled to pass funding measures in recent years. In Kootenai County, the Post Falls School District passed a $6 million levy with 62% in favor , Lakeland Joint School District passed a $7.5 million levy with 67% in support, and Plummer-Worley Joint School District passed a $900,000 levy with 59%. Notably, the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee did not make endorsements for or against the levies as it has in the past. The Lakeland levy almost didn't make it onto the ballot until a sick school board member called in to a January meeting to break a tie vote. A $9.52 million levy had failed in November. The Boundary County School District passed a $2.4 million levy with 69% of the vote after another proposal failed in November. A well-organized information campaign and higher turnout helped turn things around, the Bonners Ferry Herald reported. Voters in the West Bonner School District in Priest River passed a slimmed down levy with 54.5% in favor after two years of failed attempts plunged the district into financial trouble. Voters approved the $2.35 million per-year levy for two years after rejecting a one-year $4.6 million levy last May and a $1.13 million levy in November. The district closed the junior high this school year, and private donations funded sports and extracurricular activities amid the budget cuts. West Bonner Superintendent Kim Spacek said the junior high will remain combined with the senior high school, and the levy will cover $614,000 for sports and extracurriculars. "I think most importantly this is a win for the kids and the community," Spacek said. "We faced some criticism in the last few years, but we are listening." Spacek, who was hired last summer, said he organized listening sessions in the community to answer questions and build trust. He said the school district has proposed a home learning network as an alternative option for parents, who would control the curriculum. The district plans to partner with Idaho-based distance teaching company Overture Learning and would provide support as needed with two teachers. "We are going to start slow," Spacek said. "We want to build a quality program." If the levy had not passed, the district would have had to close two of the three elementary schools and cut staff, Spacek said. James Hanlon's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and by members of the Spokane community. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
