Latest news with #WhiteGoldofGreenland
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bill Maher Praises President Trump as ‘Gracious' and ‘Not Fake' Recounting His White House Visit: ‘Everything I've Ever Not Liked About Him Was Absent'
New rule: if I'm going to criticize the President of the United States, then I'm going to eat dinner with the President of the United States. That may as well have been one of the no-no's to start Friday's episode of 'Real Time With Bill Maher,' which opened with the host detailing his March 31 visit to the White House to meet with President Trump. Maher, who's been an outspoken critic of the Commander-in-chief since before his first presidential term, recounted the evening in a lengthy monologue at the top of the show. 'Let me first say that to all the people who treated this like it was some sort of summit meeting, 'You're ridiculous,'' Maher started off. 'Like I was going to sign a treaty or something? I have no power. I'm a fucking comedian.' More from Variety Donald Trump Laughs Off China Reducing U.S. Movies Amid Tariff Drama: 'I Think I've Heard Worse Things' China to 'Moderately Reduce' U.S. Film Imports After Latest Round of Trump Tariffs 'White Gold of Greenland' Doc Adds Urgency to Arctic Island's Push for Freedom Amid Trump Threat: It's 'Wanted to Be Independent for Decades' Maher then touted that he got the president to sign a sheet of paper listing numerous insults that Trump had levied against Maher over the years, including 'low-life' and 'his show is dead.' But the host's tone changed shortly after that. 'The guy I met is not the guy who the night before the dinner shit-Tweeted a bunch of nasty crap about how this dinner was a bad idea and what a deranged asshole I was,' Maher said. 'Just for starters: he laughs. I've never seen him laugh in public. But he does, including at himself. He's not fake.' Maher noted a standout moment while touring the White House: 'I don't remember what we were talking about, but it must've been something with the 2020 election. Because I know he distinctly used the world 'lost.' And I said, 'Wow, I never thought I'd hear you say that.' He didn't get mad. He's much more self-aware than he lets on in public.' The host also noted that the conversation covered his own criticisms of the Trump admin, including its collapse of President Obama's 2015 deal with Iran to limit the country's nuclear program. He also shared that he praised Trump's signaling for DEI having 'gone too far,' legislation against trans athletes and ongoing support for Israel military action in Gaza. He noted that his takeaway from Trump's private candor was 'emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days.' 'Look, I get it. It doesn't matter who he is at a private dinner with a comedian. It matters who he is on the world stage. I'm just taking it as a positive that this person exists. Because everything I've ever not liked about him was — I swear to God — absent, at least on this night with this guy,' Maher said. 'He mostly steered the conversation to, 'What do you think about this?' I know: your mind is blown. So is mine.' 'A crazy person doesn't live in the White House. A person who plays a crazy person on TV a lot lives there, which I know is fucked up,' Maher added. 'It's just not as fucked up as I thought it was.' Maher had previously teased that he had much to share about his March 31 meeting with Trump, sharing a post on X the following morning to say, 'Hey everybody, thank you for all the interest in my dinner with the president last night – I promise, all will be revealed on the next ['Real Time'] … As it's April 1 today, no one would believe what I said today anyway!' The dinner was organized by musician Kid Rock, a longtime supporter of Trump and one of his more outspoken fans from the entertainment industry. Kid Rock was present for the meeting between Maher and the president. Since Maher's meeting with Trump, the administration has faced heightened criticism for inflicting mass tariffs against all U.S. trade partners, a move that led to historic daily collapses in the global stock market. After announcing the policy on April 2, President Trump has since ordered a 90-day pause on global tariffs, though the admin has hiked policies on China to 145%, spurring retaliatory tariffs from the country and putting the world's two biggest economies in a trade war. Maher acknowledged the change in the news cycle at the top of his monologue: 'He put tariffs on every country in the world and of course the stock market plunged. And the next day he went, 'Well, I didn't say 'Simon says.'' Guests on this week's episode of 'Real Time' included Steve Bannon, Piers Morgan and Josh Rogin. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025 The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘White Gold of Greenland' Doc Adds Urgency to Arctic Island's Push for Freedom Amid Trump Threat: It's ‘Wanted to Be Independent for Decades'
Just as Donald Trump escalates efforts to annex Greenland — the better to access its rich minerals and strategic sea routes — an explosive documentary, 'The White Gold of Greenland,' has become a flash point in the Arctic island's ongoing push for decolonization and freedom from greedy outsiders. The doc, directed by Claus Pilehave and Otto Rosing, asserts that between 1854 and 1987, Danish mining companies extracted nearly $58 billion worth of a precious mineral that is crucial for producing aluminium, but pumped little of that massive wealth back into Greenland's economy. More from Variety MrBeast Slams Trump's Tariffs as the 'Nail in the Coffin' for Small Businesses: 'A Random Price Hike Was Pretty Brutal' Judge Orders Trump's White House to Lift AP Ban in Ruling on 'Gulf of America' Dispute John Stamos Defends Visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago: 'Supporting Nurses Isn't Political. It's Essential... My Political Views Remain Unchanged' 'In Denmark there had always been this narrative about the country paying a lot of money to develop Greenland,' Pilehave tells Variety. 'But in this case we could see: Wow! There's been money going the other way from this cryolite mine.' 'White Gold of Greenland' follows Naja Graugaard, a researcher in colonial relations between Greenland and Denmark, as she uncovers the exploitation and ponders its impact with her Inuit grandmother, who lives in a village near the mine. The doc premiered in Nuuk, Greenland's capital, to a rapturous response in February, on the eve of Greenland's March 11 elections, and was immediately released on Danish national broadcaster DR. Just two weeks later, 'White Gold' was pulled from the platform after it sparked fierce reactions from local politicians and economists who claimed the $58 billion figure was skewed. This caused DR editor-in-chief Thomas Falbe to reportedly be fired for airing the doc. Culture minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt blasted the doc's makers for failing to make clear 'the difference between revenue and profit.' 'It's misleading, irresponsible and comes at the worst moment,' Engel-Schmidt said on Facebook referring to the fact that it aired in the leadup to elections considered crucial in shaping Greenland's future relations with both the U.S. and Denmark, which colonized Greenland 300 years ago and still controls its foreign policy, defense and other affairs. To Greenlanders, 'White Gold' getting quashed – since play on DR was the only way to see it – 'was really a slap in the face,' says its producer Michael Bévort. 'I mean, here was a film that spoke for them and was seen as a Greenlandic voice in the debate,' he says. 'And then it was pulled by a discussion over numbers.' Bévort also points out that Denmark's censorious reaction 'probably mattered much more than the film itself,' meaning that pulling 'White Gold' caused an even greater stir in Greenland than its anti-colonial implications per se. Enter the International Sámi Film Institute in Kautokeino, Norway. The organization, which is dedicated to the Sámi and to other Indigenous people in the Nordic countries, decided in mid-March to make 'The White Gold of Greenland' available to stream on its platform in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Greenland, Canada and Germany. Sámi Film Institute chief Anne Lajla Utsi says the institute released the doc 'because we want to showcase the Indigenous perspective.' She notes that the group had not independently analyzed the numbers that led DR to remove it from its platform, 'but we have watched it and believe others should have the opportunity to do the same, especially the people of Greenland.' The doc clearly struck a chord with Greenlanders as they mulled their geopolitical future. According to a Verian Group poll conducted prior to the elections for national daily Sermitsiaq, 36% of respondents said 'White Gold' would influence their vote, though the survey did not specify how. The elections saw the surprise victory of Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the center-right Demokraatit party, who, at 33, became the nation's youngest prime minister. Nielsen, who favours a softer approach to independence from Denmark than his opponents, was quick to push back against both Trump's aims for Greenland and Denmark's colonial constraints. 'We don't want to be Americans. No, we don't want to be Danes. We want to be Greenlanders,' he told Sky News. Nielsen gave Vice President JD Vance the cold shoulder when he visited the Pituffik space base in northwestern Greenland in late March. After Vance departed, Trump in Washington ominously told NBC News that military force wasn't off the table with regard to annexing the island. 'President Trump says that the United States 'will get Greenland.' Let me be clear: The United States will not get it. We do not belong to anyone else,' Nielsen said on Facebook reacting to Trump's saber rattling. 'What has been going on is that Greenland has wanted to be independent for decades,' says Bévort. 'But there is a gross misunderstanding about this abroad, and also in Denmark,' he notes. 'I think for the Greenlanders this doesn't mean they want to be alone in the middle of nowhere. It just means they want to renegotiate their relationship with Denmark in order to have equal standing.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025 The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Encampments,' Macklemore-Produced Doc About Columbia University Gaza Solidarity Movement, Reveals U.S. Release Date and First-Look Images (EXCLUSIVE)
Timely doc 'The Encampments,' which delves into the Columbia University Gaza Solidarity Encampment that grew into a wave of international student activism and subsequently sparked the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump, is now set for release in U.S. movie theaters. Watermelon Pictures has announced a March 28 theatrical launch at the Angelika Film Center in New York, with a nationwide theatrical expansion to follow. 'The Encampments' features Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil (pictured below), a recent Columbia graduate who was detained earlier this month by federal immigration agents in New York as part of Trump's crackdown on students who have protested against the war in Gaza. A judge has ordered the Trump administration not to deport Khalil pending a legal fight over his detention. More from Variety Controversial 'White Gold of Greenland' Doc Finds Distribution After Being Pulled in Denmark Amid Trump Bid for Arctic Island President Trump Moves to Gut Voice of America; CPJ Calls Executive Order 'Outrageous' Marc Maron Tells Bill Maher: 'You're a Bitch' for Agreeing With 'Some of the Stuff Trump Is Doing' The doc — produced by Grammy-winning rap artist Macklemore and directed by BreakThrough News journalist and producer Kei Pritsker and filmmaker Michael T Workman — will world premiere on March 25, ahead of its theatrical release, at the CPH:DOX Film Festival in Copenhagen. The Columbia University encampment started in April 2024, when roughly 50 students pitched tents on university grounds in an occupation that snowballed into an international protest movement. 'The Encampments' chronicles the protest's escalation 'from Columbia's administration banning student organizations for Palestine to the mass arrests that broke a 50-year police ban on campus,' according to the provided synopsis. 'As students faced police raids, media attacks and institutional repression, their movement spread to universities across the country and beyond, making history in real time.' The doc includes access to the student organizers at several encampments, and also to a whistleblower from high-up in the administration of an Ivy League university 'who shares exclusive insights into what was taking place within the halls of the ivory tower as students protested down below.' Khalil, who received his master's degree from Columbia's school of international affairs last semester, served as a negotiator for students as they bargained with university officials over an end to the encampment. In a statement, directors Pritsker and Workman called 'The Encampments' 'a testament to the courage of young people to not only imagine a better world, but to fight for it in the face of violence and repression.' They added: 'This film challenges the dominant media narrative by revealing the true spirit of the encampments — what it felt like to be there, the emotions that fueled the students and what motivated their drastic action.' Added Macklemore, 'Students have always led the charge for justice, from the sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement to the campus protests against South African apartheid. They've never been on the wrong side of history. The encampments that started at Columbia are part of that legacy, inspiring millions of people around the world.' 'The Encampments' is a BreakThrough News production in conjunction with Watermelon Pictures and Macklemore. Producers on the doc also include Pritsker, Workman, Matthew Bele and Munir Atalla, with Benjamin Becker serving as executive producer. Watermelon Pictures was founded in 2024 by brothers Hamza Ali and Badie Ali, with Alana Hadid leading the team as creative director. The company, which describes itself as being rooted in Palestinian culture and creativity, has released 'From Ground Zero,' which was Palestine's entry for the 2025 Oscars' international feature film category, and Mahdi Fleifel's 'To a Land Unknown,' which premiered last year at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Documentary Filmmakers Blast Proposal to Shut Down Miami Beach's O Cinema: ‘An Attack on Freedom of Expression'
Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner's March 13 proposal to shut down the city's nonprofit art house cinema, O Cinema, following screenings of the Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' is not sitting well with the members of the doc community. On Monday, 752 members of the international filmmaking community including doc feature Oscar winners Michael Moore, Laura Poitras, Ezra Edelman and Alex Gibney signed an open letter to the city of Miami Beach that stated, in part, that the Mayor's threat to shut down the O Cinema is 'an attack on freedom of expression, the right of artists to tell their stories, and a violation of the First Amendment.' More from Variety Controversial 'White Gold of Greenland' Doc Finds Distribution After Being Pulled in Denmark Amid Trump Bid for Arctic Island 'Agatha's Almanac' Acquired by Lightdox Ahead of CPH:DOX World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) CPH:DOX Chief and Head of Industry on Their Program, Standing Up for Values and Sticking Together (EXCLUSIVE) Alfred Spellman, who co-founded Rakontur with Billy Corben in 2000, also signed the letter. The Miami Beach native has produced over 15 docus, including 'From Russia With Lev' and 'Cocaine Cowboys.' 'This is a case that is definitional of what the First Amendment is supposed to protect against, which is government encroachment on speech,' Spellman told Variety. 'The Mayor is trying to claim that the content of the documentary is anti-semitic, but that doesn't matter. So long as it is not legally obscene, the mayor has no business interfering with what the O Cinema chooses to program.' The story of the resistance of Palestinian activists against forced displacement and settler expansion in the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta, 'No Other Land' debuted at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Documentary Award and Panorama Dokumente Audience Award. Directed by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists: Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor and Basel Adra, it went on to play widely on the fest circuit, winning a slew of other awards prior to the Oscar. Meiner characterized the film as 'a false one-sided propaganda attack on the Jewish people that is not consistent with the values of our city and residents' and has introduced legislation to terminate the lease for the O Cinema, a city-owned property. In addition to asking Miami Beach commissioners to end the theater's lease, Meiner is also asking the city to 'immediately discontinue' approximately $40,000 in city grant funding. 'The problem here is that there is an attempt to shift the discussion to the merits or the demerits of the film and the filmmaking and the issues surrounding it,' said Spellman. 'If you are a committed free speech advocate, none of that matters.' Together Films founder and CEO Sarah Mosses also signed the open letter sent to Meiner and Miami Beach commissioners. 'The censorship we are seeing in Miami is what we usually see in other regions led by dictators,' says Mosses, who is selling the 2024 abortion doc 'Zurawski V Texas' to international markets. 'We should be very concerned with this rhetoric.' Miami Beach Commissioner Tanya Katzoff Bhatt told Variety that she was 'flabbergasted' by Meiner's attempt to censor O Cinema. 'I'm not at all surprised that we are getting the outpouring of very distressed citizens, both residents of Miami Beach and beyond, saying basically, what the holy hell are you doing?,' said Bhatt. 'So, I'm also thrilled that we are getting the response we are getting because censorship is never the right answer to challenging issues.' The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Community Justice Project are representing O Cinema. On Tuesday, Vivian Marthell, the CEO of O Cinema, held a press conference in Miami Beach with representatives from the ACLU, the Miami Light Project, and the Community Justice Project to discuss the First Amendment concerns and O Cinema. 'The Mayor's threats were patently unconstitutional, but they sparked a global conversation about the importance of arts in our civic life and the importance of free expression to our democratic ideals, Florida ACLU legal director Daniel Tilley told members of the media. Though 'No Other Land' was sold by Autlook to dozens of foreign territories — including the United Kingdom and France — it has struggled to find a home in both the U.S., where it has been self-released by the filmmakers. The doc had its U.S. theatrical release on Feb. 2 on a single screen and grossed $26,000. Since then, the film has expanded to 120 U.S.-based screens and grossed over $1.2 million. O Cinema is set to screen 'No Other Land' again on Wednesday and Thursday. Both screenings are sold out. 'This has come as a complete shock and surprise to us,' O Cinema co-founder and chair of the board of directors Kareem Tabsch told Variety. 'In the organization's nearly 15 years, we have never heard from an elected official who has questioned or challenged a film we have shown, and we've operated in multiple municipalities.' Tabsch said that while there has been 'a modest uptick' in theater donations, if Meiner's resolution passes, the O Cinema will 'become homeless.' 'I have been able to lead the city forward, with the support of my colleagues, in so many meaningful ways this last year,' said Bhatt. 'We have increased grants to all kinds of cultural institutions to (help them) continue doing the work that they do because we recognize how important it is to our schools, to our community, to our tourism, and to the narrative of what Miami Beach is all about. To have it undone based on one person's opinion is heartbreaking to me. It's devastating to what we're trying to build.' At the Oscar ceremony earlier this month, 'No Other Land' directors received a standing ovation when they were announced as the winner of the best documentary feature category. Co-director Abraham, an Israeli journalist, spoke about the power of the film being a collaboration between Israelis and Palestinians. 'Together, our voices are stronger,' he said. 'We see each other — the destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end, the Israeli hostages, brutally taken in the crime of Oct. 7, which must be freed.' Meiner was elected to the nonpartisan mayoral position in November 2023. Miami Beach commissioners will vote on Meiner's O Cinema proposal on Wednesday. To overturn Meiner's resolution, there needs to be a four-person majority. If commissioners vote to overturn O Cinema's lease, Bhatt said that she will be very concerned. 'If it happens here in Miami Beach, what does it mean for the rest of the country?' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Controversial ‘White Gold of Greenland' Doc Finds Distribution After Being Pulled in Denmark Amid Trump Bid for Arctic Island
Timely doc 'The White Gold of Greenland' is sparking controversy in the Nordic film and TV community just as U.S. President Donald Trump has set his sights on the Arctic island's mineral wealth. Directed by Claus Pilehave and Otto Rosing – the latter is known for directing 'Nuummioq,' considered the first locally produced feature film ever made in Greenland – 'White Gold of Greenland' delves into the colonial relationships between Greenland and Denmark. More from Variety 'Agatha's Almanac' Acquired by Lightdox Ahead of CPH:DOX World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) CPH:DOX Chief and Head of Industry on Their Program, Standing Up for Values and Sticking Together (EXCLUSIVE) 'Coexistence, My Ass!,' About Israeli Comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi, Wins the Golden Alexander at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival The doc – initially aired by Denmark's national broadcaster DR – claims that between 1854 and 1987 Danish mining companies operating on Greenland's west coast extracted the equivalent of nearly $59 billion worth of a precious mineral called cryolite that is crucial for producing aluminium, without pumping much of that wealth back into Greenland's economy. That claim sparked an uproar. Two weeks after going on air in February 'White Gold of Greenland' was pulled by DR and the broadcaster's editor-in-chief Thomas Falbe was reportedly forced to step down. Danish Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said in a Facebook post that the doc's directors had failed to make clear 'the difference between revenue and profit.' Engel-Schmidt further noted that 'White Gold of Greenland' came 'at the worst moment' with Trump raising the prospect of trying to annex Greenland and make it part of the United States. Enter the International Sámi Film Institute in nearby Kautokeino, Norway, which has come to the rescue. The film organization dedicated to the Sámi people and to other Indigenous people in the Nordic countries has now decided to make 'White Gold of Greenland' available to stream on its platform in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Greenland, Canada, and Germany. 'We are publishing the film because we want to showcase the Indigenous perspective,' said Sámi Film Institute chief Anne Lajla Utsi, adding that 'We have not independently analyzed the parts of the film that led DR to remove it from its platform, but we have watched it and believe others should have the opportunity to do the same,' she added, noting that 'The filmmakers are reputable professionals.' Other titles on the institute's platform include Sámi classics such as Nils Gaup's 'Pathfinder,' and 'The Kautokeino Rebellion' and Amanda Kernell's 'Sami Blood.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
