Latest news with #WillandGrace
Sky News AU
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Victims of antisemitism speak out on discrimination as 'October 8 film' delves into growth of anti-Israel sentiment in US
Two prominent campaigners against antisemitism have spoken out on their fight against discrimination as they reflected on the release of the film October 8. The film was directed by Wendy Sachs and co-produced with Will and Grace star Debra Messing - who comes from a Jewish family. It delves into incidents of antisemitism on college campuses and social media in the United States which erupted in the wake of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The documentary, which was released on March 14, 2025, has received mainly positive reviews and now Talia Khan and Tessa Veksler are continuing the fight to educate others and ward off antisemitism and hate speech. Ms Khan, a graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), delivered a testimony to Congress in December 2023 to bring to their attention the "extremely toxic atmosphere" that had developed at the college and to advocate for the safety of Jewish students. On Wednesday, she and Ms Veksler, fellow campaigner for Jewish people, joined Sky News' Chris Kenny to discuss the film and the alarming levels of discrimination they had been subjected to. "I think that one of the biggest benefits of this film and the way that the story was told is that it shows very clearly that the things that were happening on campus that happened to Tessa, that happened me, and all the other Jewish students on campus... it wasn't about politics or policy, it wasn't about whether or not you agree with (Israeli PM Benjamin) Netanyahu or not," Ms Khan told Kenny. "It was really just bullying and hatred and support for terror." She also said she would make an effort to speak with people who took part in pro-Palestine encampments on campus, but that she would be turned away due to them having a "non-conversation policy with Zionists". "They're not even allowed to talk to us. Many of them wouldn't look us in the eye. So it was very clear that it wasn't about having an environment of intellectual curiosity or rigorous debate about the policy issues. It was just about hatred and promotion of terror," she said. Ms Veksler, who survived a recall vote to remain head of the student body at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said one of the biggest challenges had been people who she thought she was close to turning on her. "I think that was a really painful thing that people who you thought were your allies were so quick to change their minds... and there are these striking similarities between what we went through on our campuses and what's happening here in Australia and on university campuses, and so it's pretty universal from what I'm seeing," she said. When asked about how the world could overturn hatred and ignorance, Ms Veksler said it had to start with people agreeing "what this is about". "First and foremost, this is a fight for Western values and for humanity against hatred of all kinds. The thing that people really don't understand is that it starts with the Jews, it never ends with us," she said. "So if we care about the free world and we can all agree on that, it will help us unite against this form of hatred." Ms Khan agreed, describing Jews as "the canary in the coal mine". "This is a battle against Western values, against democracy, against women's rights, et cetera," she said. "We need to make that not just Jews are standing up and speaking out against us, that we have allies who are also standing up and speaking up against this kind of hate and this kind, you know, revelling in terror."
The Sun
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Bradley Cooper's new movie is based on life of huge British comedian – but can you work out who?
BRADLEY Cooper's latest film is inspired by a very unlikely standup comic. The upcoming movie, Is This Thing On?, stars BoJack Horseman's Will Arnett as a newly-divorced man who falls into a career of stand-up while working as a pharmaceutical salesman. 5 5 Hollywood star Bradley Cooper's new film is based on none other than John Bishop. The Liverpudlian favourite got into comedy in 2000 after splitting with his wife Melanie after randomly wandering into a comedy club in Manchester. The shock news was revealed on Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast when comedian Chloe Radcliffe – who plays a stand-up in the film – shared the surprising fact. She said: " Bradley Cooper is directing a movie starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern. Their relationship goes south, they split up, and Will Arnett discovers stand-up comedy. "It is based on the life of John Bishop. I promise you. I think Will and John sat next to each other at a dinner ten years ago and Will heard his story was like, 'That rules, I want to do that someday. "So anyway that's the movie that I just wrapped on…" She continued: "I'm playing the stand-up who like believes in him." The Hangover star Bradley directs and stars as his best friend Alex, while Bishop serves as an executive producer on the film. The impressive cast also includes Ciarán Hinds, former NFL star Peyton Manning, comedian Amy Sedaris and Will and Grace's Sean Hayes along with his husband, Scott Icenogle. Bishop told Graham Norton previously: "So, I'd split up with my wife, it was a Monday night. I had the kids all weekend, and on a Monday I was just depressed, so I thought, 'I'll do something that you can do on your own.' And it was either a comedy club or lap dancing. Iconic clip where Alan from Hangover unexpectedly acquires a random baby "I was 34 coming on to 35 and I was just looking for something to do. I walked up to the door thinking it would be a full comedy club, and the guy on the door said to me, 'It's £4 to get in, but it's free if you put your name down.' "For what?". He said, 'It's an open mic night.' And I genuinely didn't know what that meant. "He said: 'That means you put your name down, and if your name gets called out, you get on stage.' "And because I'd only been to two comedy clubs and it'd always been full, I thought, 'Well, there'll be 200 people. They'll never get to me.' "And, you know, it was four pounds. I was going through a divorce. I thought, 'Well, that's four pounds she's not getting.' "I put my name down, expecting never to be called out, and I walked in and there was seven people in the place, and five of them had put their name down. "I got called out second. If I'd have been called out third, I might have already left. So I got called out second after a Geordie fella doing chicken impressions. "Then he [compere Mick Ferry] called my name, and I walked on stage. I'd never been on a stage. I'd done sales presentations and stuff like that. "I remember the lights in my eyes and saying something about the lights being bright, and then I thought, 'What am I doing here? This is just ridiculous.' Like, I'd never thought of doing this. "Then I thought, 'Well, what's my choice? I'm going to go home to an empty house, not living with the woman I want to live with, not living with my kids. I'll just go home to a bottle of wine, and what have I got to lose? There's only seven people here and one of them thinks he's a chicken.' "So I literally started talking. I said some half joke, and then I had nothing to say, I had no joke, so I just went, 'I'm getting divorced.' And I started talking about getting divorced. "In comedy clubs, when your time's up, there's a red light that flashes, I didn't even know that. So I remember going, 'Oh, your light's broke,' and I just carried on talking. "I was meant to do seven minutes but because there was no one there they let me carry on. I did about 25 minutes. "When I walked off I remember Mick the compere and the fella who ran the place coming up to me and saying, 'Where have you been doing your stand-up?'" "It's like counselling," admitted Bishop. 5 5 5
New York Times
02-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Corrections: April 2, 2025
An article on Saturday about a split emerging within the nation's legal system on how to respond to executive orders from President Trump, misspelled, in some instances, the surname of a longtime federal prosecutor and former partner at Jenner & Block. He is Andrew Weissmann, not Weissman. An article on Monday about France developing and approving a curriculum for sex education classes for students starting in September misstated the equivalent of 620 million euros in U.S. dollars. It is $670 million, not $67 million. An article on Monday about the U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin misstated Adam Siao Him Fa's final standing in the men's singles competition at the World Figure Skating Championships. He finished fourth, not third, and trailed Ilia Malinin by 43.08 points, not 40.37. (Yama Kagiyama finished third.) An article on Saturday about the sitcom 'Mid-Century Modern' continuing the show despite the death of cast member Linda Lavin in December described incorrectly the sitcom 'Sean Saves the World.' It starred Sean Hayes of the sitcom 'Will and Grace,' but it was not a spinoff of that show. An article on Sunday about casual hanging-out-at-home staples misstated the Web address for the brand Bluemarble in a picture caption; it is not The end credits with the article misspelled the surname of a model; he is Tylar Gardener, not Gardner. Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Debra Messing on serendipitous reunion with Robert De Niro after losing 'Casino' role to Sharon Stone
Debra Messing has waited 30 years to share the screen with Robert De Niro — in a gangster film, no less — after she missed out on a big role in Casino. Now the two play husband and wife in The Alto Knights. The film, in theaters March 21, is about the bitter feud between two of New York's most notorious mid-century organized crime bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. For Messing, it's a bit of a full-circle moment as she was close to starring opposite De Niro in the 1995 film Casino. The Will & Grace alum was up for the role of Ginger McKenna that ultimately went to Sharon Stone. "I met [Bob] for the first time when I was 25 years old and I just graduated from NYU grad school and it was one of my first auditions for film," Messing, 56, told Yahoo Entertainment. "I was called back and they said, 'You're going to be meeting Robert De Niro and Marty Scorsese for Casino.'" Messing continued, "Just getting a callback at that point was so incredible. But I was like, 'I am too young for this.' And I went to a salon and I said, 'Give me an updo, make me look older and sophisticated and glamorous.' And I knocked on the door [at the audition] and Bob opened it and he was like, 'What, you going to a prom?'" Messing laughed, "I died. I don't remember anything after that." In The Alto Knights, Messing plays mob boss wife Bobbie Costello. In a career first, De Niro plays dual roles as he stars as both Costello and Genovese. "When we actually read together ... the third line in, Bob started improvising and I thought, 'What's going on? This isn't the scene I learned.' And I thought, 'OK, sink or swim. This is what you learned how to do in graduate acting school at NYU. So just dive in' — and I did," Messing said about finally working with De Niro. "And it became really fun and really fluid. We just had a good chemistry, and he just made it feel very safe and welcoming." One of the next big things on Messing's calendar? Attending the April Broadway premiere of Smash, which is based on her cult-hit TV show. 'I will be there opening night,' she said. 'I already saw an early workshop of it, and I was crying through it. It's going to be so wonderful.' Although she's ready to walk down memory lane with Smash, it doesn't sound like a second revival of Will & Grace will happen anytime soon. The three-season reboot ended in 2020, and Messing seems to be content with leaving it there. 'I think the only thing that we could ever get away with would be in a couple of decades, The Golden Girls: Will and Grace, where all four of them are living in Boca Raton together and everyone's in a caftan,' she said. 'I would buy that! But I don't think anything before that. ... Come back in 40 years!' is in theaters on March 21.
