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Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Mark Hamill starred in the ultimate battle of good and evil. Now he just wants to make America normal again
Mark Hamill was at a point in his life where he felt ready to trade the Force for a pool float and a quiet crossword in the shade. After five decades as the face of one of pop culture's most enduring myths — Luke Skywalker, the wide-eyed Tatooine farm boy-turned-Jedi knight in 'Star Wars' — Hamill had found a comfortable corner of the galaxy to call his own. He had a home he cherished, a family that kept him grounded and no pressing need to be in front of a camera again. 'I said, 'This is perfect — they killed me off,'' Hamill, 73, says with a shrug on a warm May afternoon in Los Angeles, referring to Skywalker's death in 2017's 'The Last Jedi.' 'I didn't have the drive or the motivation anymore. If you lose the fire in your belly, it's easy to just hang around the pool all day, playing Yahtzee or whatever. I don't want to be on camera at my age anymore. The only ones who complain are my agent and my wife. He wants the commission and she wants me out of the house.' That was the plan, anyway — until the world caught fire. The actor sits on a couch in a rented house in Los Feliz, his shoes kicked off to reveal socks patterned with the gloomy face of Edgar Allan Poe. His Malibu home — the one he bought with his 'Star Wars' money in 1978, where he married his wife, Marilou, in the backyard and raised their three kids — remains uninhabitable after the January fires that tore through large swaths of the city, destroying most of his neighborhood. Hamill and his wife evacuated the Palisades fire as flames rose on either side of the road. 'Every house that touches our property, except for one, burnt to the ground,' he says. 'Two hundred and seventy houses — 60 survived.' Four months later, the hills around his home are still blackened and toxic. And it's not just his neighborhood that feels scorched. To Hamill — one of Hollywood's most outspoken and sharp-tongued Trump critics — the country itself feels battered, just months into a second term he sees as a dangerous backslide. For a man who embodied the triumph of good over evil nearly half a century ago, it's not always easy to find a new hope. 'I mean what a world — you had the pandemic and then you have what happened in politics, then you have this ghastly event,' he says. 'It's hard to say, 'Oh, yay. I'm so happy our house survived' when you realize all your friends lost everything.' That sense of quiet disorientation — of a world slowly unraveling — pulses through 'The Life of Chuck,' director Mike Flanagan's strange and tender adaptation of a 2020 Stephen King novella. Following a warmly received premiere at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People's Choice award, the Neon film hits theaters Friday as an unexpected — and somewhat risky — piece of summer counterprogramming: a hushed, reflective character study that begins with the end of the world and moves backward into a life-affirming meditation on memory, mortality and legacy. Starring opposite Tom Hiddleston and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Hamill plays Albie, a widowed, math-loving Jewish grandfather facing the end of his life with quiet grace and stubborn decency — a role that, in an earlier era, might have gone to the likes of Richard Dreyfuss, Peter Falk or Judd Hirsch. It's hardly the kind of part most people associate with Hamill, who has spent much of his post-'Star Wars' career behind the mic as a versatile and in-demand voice actor, most famously as the Joker in 'Batman: The Animated Series' and numerous other TV and video game projects. But when Flanagan, who had previously cast him as a ruthless lawyer in the Netflix horror miniseries 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' offered him the role, Hamill didn't hesitate, at least not outwardly. 'Mark said something no actor has ever said to me: 'I don't know if I can do this, but you think I can do this, so I should,' ' Flanagan says by phone. 'That knocked me out. I felt like I had to rise to that level of trust.' On set, Hamill fully inhabited the role. Albie doesn't show up until more than an hour into the film and appears in only a few scenes, but he anchors the movie as a quiet, steady presence who finds comfort in routine, ritual and his lifelong love of numbers. To build his character's look, Hamill asked the hair and makeup team to bleach out all the color from his hair and mustache, then tried on a few pairs of glasses. When he saw the result in the mirror, he cracked up: 'Oh my God, I'm Geppetto. I look just like the Disney version.' Hamill was drawn to how understated the role was — a far cry from the larger-than-life or eccentric characters he has often played in animation and genre fare. 'He's just sort of an amiable grandpa,' Hamill says. 'You know, loves his wife, loves his grandchild, but you tell him you think math is boring, boy, it sets him off. You found his sore spot. I love the fact that he just loves being an accountant, loves math, which, for me, is a character part, believe me.' The film's emotional centerpiece is a long monologue Albie delivers alone at a desk: a quiet meditation on the hidden beauty of math and, by extension, life. Hamill, who hasn't often had the chance to deliver this kind of grounded, dramatic work on screen, approached it with some trepidation. 'First of all, speeches are notorious — they go on for like three pages,' he says. 'Luckily, I had it five or six weeks before we were going to shoot and I worked on it every single day.' The grandfatherly on-screen role is a far cry from the one Hamill has played off-screen in recent years, where he's become one of Hollywood's most vocal and scathing critics of Trump. On X, where he has 4.7 million followers, he has channeled his pop-culture savvy and political outrage into a satirical sideshow, firing off punchlines like proton torpedoes. On May 4, Star Wars Day, he mocked a White House post featuring an AI-generated image of Trump holding a red lightsaber, the canonical weapon of the franchise's villains. 'Proof this guy is full of SITH,' Hamill wrote on Bluesky, triggering a meme storm of Sith-Trump mashups. Hamill is well aware his political outspokenness can easily steal the spotlight, but he can't help himself, even during this interview. 'I didn't want to talk about politics — I know when I talk about it, that's the headline,' he says right before launching into a full-throated excoriation of Trump. 'I don't think of myself as an activist,' he says. 'But when they started using that phrase, 'the Resistance,' I thought, Jesus, I did that in a fictional way all those years ago. Now it's the real thing.' The impulse, he says, is both emotional and tactical. 'I read a book that had, like, 37 psychiatrists talking about Trump's malignant narcissism and they said people like that, their kryptonite is being laughed at,' says Hamill, a lifelong comic-book fan who often speaks in superhero metaphors. 'So that informs my position. He's so manipulative, I know if I tweeted something in praise of him, I'd have an invite to Mar-a-Lago. But no, thank you.' (Hamill has visited the White House three times, under Carter, Obama and Biden.) Hamill knows his online habits aren't always healthy. He tracks his follower count obsessively, noting it dropped by about 70,000 after Elon Musk took over Twitter, and now spends most of his time on Bluesky. 'I never block people because I don't want to give them the satisfaction,' he says. 'But I mute like a mofo — mute, mute, mute. One time I looked at the clock and thought, 'Oh, my God, I've been muting people for 45 minutes.'' He sighs, then laughs dryly. 'Harrison Ford is smart — he's not on social media.' Hamill, who has described his own father as a 'Nixon Republican,' knows 'Star Wars' was meant to be universal, a mythic tale of good and evil that fans across the political spectrum could embrace. Now, with many viewing him as a real-world member of the Resistance, he finds himself in a delicate spot. 'I'm sure I meet MAGA people all the time,' says Hamill, who jokes that he supports 'MANA: Make America Normal Again.' 'Even if they had a MAGA button, I wouldn't be in conflict. A fan's a fan. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be where I am.' Politics may dominate his social media feed but 'The Life of Chuck' helped remind Hamill that acting still feeds something deeper. Now he is carrying that momentum into a handful of new projects. In September, he co-stars in another King adaptation, 'The Long Walk,' a dystopian thriller set in a near-future America, where 100 teenage boys are forced into a harrowing nationally televised endurance contest: keep walking without rest, or be shot on sight — until only one remains. 'When I read the premise, I told [director] Francis [Lawrence], it's like a thinking man's snuff film,' he said. 'It's so horrific, I didn't know if I could even see it, forget about being in it.' But Hamill has always relished a juicy villain and, with its authoritarian themes, the role of the Major fit the bill: 'The State is the heavy and I represent the State.' In December, returning to his beloved voice work, he will bring the Flying Dutchman to life in the animated sequel 'The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants.' Flanagan, for one, hopes 'The Life of Chuck' marks the beginning of a new chapter in Hamill's on-screen career. 'I'm glad I got to be in the front row for this one — not just as the director but also as a kid who grew up with my lightsaber,' he says. 'Mark is a happy guy. He's perfectly comfortable with his legacy. But I wonder, if he'd had more opportunities to really plumb those depths, what would we have seen? He's not done. I can't wait to see what he's going to do next.' Still, Hamill can imagine stepping away on his own terms. 'As much as I appreciate a good entrance, a good exit is also something — something with dignity. Something where you're not in the latest 'Human Centipede' sequel.' (Yes, he claims, that was a real offer.) 'I wouldn't announce it,' he continues. 'I mean, who cares? I'll be a 'Jeopardy!' answer: 'Who is Mark Hamill?'' For now, his focus is on something closer to home: rebuilding. His Malibu house was spared, thanks in large part to a retired firefighter friend who stayed in the guesthouse during the evacuation and managed to extinguish embers that had ignited the wooden floorboards. But the fire left the property uninhabitable. He and his wife — who have made their rented place feel a bit more like home with a few family photos — are hoping to return sometime next year, though he knows the recovery will be painfully slow and some neighbors may never come back. 'I went back the day before yesterday and I saw all the destruction,' he says. 'We didn't go on to the property because you have to have a hazmat suit. It forces you to consider your own mortality. Well, if I'm really lucky, I've got 10 years.' He shrugs. 'Maybe. I don't know. I used to smoke and I loved fast food until Marilou banned McDonald's in the '90s. That's all gone now. But, you know, priorities. As bad as it was, everybody was safe and that should be enough.' In the days since the fires, Hamill has tried to stay philosophical about what was lost and what still matters. He's not particularly sentimental about memorabilia. But when the fires came, he realized there were still things he wasn't ready to lose. 'I have the helmet I wore when I rescued Carrie,' he says, with a mix of wistfulness and a fan's genuine awe, referring to the Stormtrooper disguise Luke donned to free Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher, from the Death Star. 'It's taped up, the rubber's falling apart. I was lucky enough to be there at the very humble beginning of what George [Lucas] called 'the most expensive low-budget movie ever made.' But it has nostalgia value. Just this pitiful hunk of plastic that used to be something important.' For the record, it still is.
Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
My mum's being scammed by AI deepfake of ‘Owen Wilson' who paid her £7 to ‘prove' his identity – would you fall for it?
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A WOMAN is seeking help after noticing her mum fall for an AI deepfake scam of Owen Wilson. The woman was sure it was easy to spot it was fake, but can you tell from watching the video above? Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 The mum was convinced she now had the actor as an online friend Credit: Getty 4 Can you spot what's wrong with the video? Credit: Reddit 4 The Hollywood actor is currently filming in Australia Credit: Getty The unnamed woman took to Reddit, revealing both she and her sister had failed to convince her mum that the man she was chatting to was not the real actor. According to her mum, she had met Owen while playing an online game of Yahtzee. She decided to share the AI deepfake video her mum had been sent by 'Owen Wilson' with the title 'Owen Wilson befriended my mother.' The Reddit user said she tried to convince her mum that it was the work of artificial intelligence after finding a 'plethora of red flags', such as the man mainly contacting her mother via WhatsApp voice calls. In the 10-second clip, the robotic image of a man resembling Owen Wilson seemed to speak directly to the poster's mother. "I'm making this video so you know I'm real," said the 'scam' actor. "I'd never do anything to hurt you. I respect you for your patience and understanding since we crossed paths. You're an amazing woman." Some viewers were quick to point out that the video looked off, with the image never making eye contact. Things had taken a weirder turn when he offered a 'job' with Warner Bros and paid her £7 for her work. The daughter added: "He 'got her a job' with Warner Bros where she can make $5000 a month but liking social media posts. The job has sent her a couple $10 payments through Cashapp for her first trainings. "She says they'll send her $1,000 through CashApp when she finishes training." The 'fake' Owen Wilson then proposed that the poster's parents move into a new house he bought so that they could keep watch as 'caretakers' while he was away working. 4 Her daughter was eager to show her mum it wasn't real Credit: Reddit Fears AI will destroy entire justice system by sending innocent people to JAIL with fake CCTV evidence & deepfakes Currently, the 56-year-old is in Australia filming his latest action thriller, Runner. She added: "He's now buying a house in our small coastal town & wants her AND MY DAD to live there & be caretakers when he's not there. He had an actual realtor from this gated community call her to discuss their options. "We believe this part because the realtor mentioned my sister in law's mother's uncommon name(we have no connection to her on social media) when my mother brought up my brother's wedding reception being held in the neighborhood." How to protect yourself from scams BY keeping these tips in mind, you can avoid getting caught up in a scam: Firstly, remember that if something seems too good to be true, it normally is. Check brands are "verified" on Facebook and Twitter pages - this means the company will have a blue tick on its profile. Look for grammatical and spelling errors; fraudsters are notoriously bad at writing proper English. If you receive a message from a 'friend' informing you of a freebie, consider whether it's written in your friend's normal style. If you're invited to click on a URL, hover over the link to see the address it will take you to – does it look genuine? To be on the really safe side, don't click on unsolicited links in messages, even if they appear to come from a trusted contact. Be careful when opening email attachments too. Fraudsters are increasingly attaching files, usually PDFs or spreadsheets, which contain dangerous malware. If you receive a suspicious message then report it to the company, block the sender and delete it. If you think you've fallen for a scam, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use its online fraud reporting tool. She concluded her post by asking fellow users for advice to prove to her mum it was a scam. One person wrote: "Wow that's scary, you can tell the tone is off and robotic. Face also looks slightly different than Owen but wow, that's crazy for someone who wouldn't know any better." Another commented: 'Jesus Christ. What a frustrating situation. Be careful not to alienate her. It can make these situations more difficult." "Tell her to watch his nose lol," penned a third. Meanwhile, a fourth said: "This AI doesn't even use the lady's name at all, just generic "compliments" to keep the target complacent. Wonder how many targets they've sent this to that the celebrity "really" loves them. Don't trust online, meet in real life and then judge based on that meeting." "It's not Owen Wilson. As mentioned elsewhere, the voice is robotic and look at his face. He's all over the place and he never called her by her name. Because the scammer had another 1000 victims to play,' claimed a fifth. Someone else added: 'This is wild! Gosh, keep looking out for her. It's unfortunate how advanced these scams have gotten." Fabulous will pay for your exclusive stories. Just email: fabulousdigital@ and pop EXCLUSIVE in the subject line.
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
My mum's being scammed by AI deepfake of ‘Owen Wilson' who paid her £7 to ‘prove' his identity – would you fall for it?
A WOMAN is seeking help after noticing her mum fall for an AI deepfake scam of Owen Wilson. The woman was sure it was easy to Advertisement 4 The mum was convinced she now had the actor as an online friend Credit: Getty 4 Can you spot what's wrong with the video? Credit: Reddit 4 The Hollywood actor is currently filming in Australia Credit: Getty The unnamed woman took to Reddit, revealing both she and her sister had failed to convince her mum that the man she was chatting to was not the real actor. According to her mum, she had met Owen while playing an online game of Yahtzee. She decided to share the The Reddit user said she tried to convince her mum that it was the work of artificial intelligence after finding a 'plethora of red flags', such as the man mainly contacting her mother via WhatsApp voice calls. Advertisement READ MORE REAL LIFE STORIES In the 10-second clip, the robotic image of a man resembling Owen Wilson seemed to speak directly to the poster's mother. "I'm making this video so you know I'm real," said the 'scam' actor. "I'd never do anything to hurt you. I respect you for your patience and understanding since we crossed paths. You're an amazing woman." Some viewers were quick to point out that the video looked off, with the image never making eye contact. Advertisement Most read in Fabulous Things had taken a weirder turn when he offered a 'job' with Warner Bros and paid her £7 for her work. The daughter added: "He 'got her a job' with Warner Bros where she can make $5000 a month but liking social media posts. The job has sent her a couple $10 payments through Cashapp for her first trainings. "She says they'll send her $1,000 through CashApp when she finishes training." The 'fake' Owen Wilson then proposed that the poster's parents move into a new house he bought so that they could keep watch as 'caretakers' while he was away working. Advertisement 4 Her daughter was eager to show her mum it wasn't real Credit: Reddit Fears AI will destroy entire justice system by sending innocent people to JAIL with fake CCTV evidence & deepfakes Currently, the 56-year-old is in Australia filming his latest action thriller, Runner. She added: "He's now buying a house in our small coastal town & wants her AND MY DAD to live there & be caretakers when he's not there. He had an actual realtor from this gated community call her to discuss their options. "We believe this part because the realtor mentioned my sister in law's mother's uncommon name(we have no connection to her on social media) when my mother brought up my brother's wedding reception being held in the neighborhood." Advertisement How to protect yourself from scams BY keeping these tips in mind, you can avoid getting caught up in a scam: Firstly, remember that if something seems too good to be true, it normally is. Check brands are "verified" on Facebook and Twitter pages - this means the company will have a blue tick on its profile. Look for grammatical and spelling errors; fraudsters are notoriously bad at writing proper English. If you receive a message from a 'friend' informing you of a freebie, consider whether it's written in your friend's normal style. If you're invited to click on a URL, hover over the link to see the address it will take you to – does it look genuine? To be on the really safe side, don't click on unsolicited links in messages, even if they appear to come from a trusted contact. Be careful when opening email attachments too. Fraudsters are increasingly attaching files, usually PDFs or spreadsheets, which contain dangerous malware. If you receive a suspicious message then report it to the company, block the sender and delete it. If you think you've fallen for a scam, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use its She concluded her One person wrote: "Wow that's scary, you can tell the tone is off and robotic. Face also looks slightly different than Owen but wow, that's crazy for someone who wouldn't know any better." Another commented: 'Jesus Christ. What a frustrating situation. Be careful not to alienate her. It can make these situations more difficult." "Tell her to watch his nose lol," penned a third. Advertisement Meanwhile, a fourth said: "This AI doesn't even use the lady's name at all, just generic "compliments" to keep the target complacent. Wonder how many targets they've sent this to that the celebrity "really" loves them. Don't trust online, meet in real life and then judge based on that meeting." "It's not Owen Wilson. As mentioned elsewhere, the voice is robotic and look at his face. He's all over the place and he never called her by her name. Because the scammer had another 1000 victims to play,' claimed a fifth. Someone else added: 'This is wild! Gosh, keep looking out for her. It's unfortunate how advanced these scams have gotten." Fabulous will pay for your exclusive stories. Just email: fabulousdigital@ and pop EXCLUSIVE in the subject line . Advertisement What are deepfakes? Here's what you need to know... Deepfakes use artificial intelligence and machine learning to produce face-swapped videos with barely any effort They can be used to create realistic videos that make celebrities appear as though they're saying something they didn't Deepfakes have also been used by sickos to make fake porn videos that feature the faces of celebrities or ex-lovers To create the videos, users first track down an XXX clip featuring a porn star that looks like an actress They then feed an app with hundreds – and sometimes thousands – of photos of the victim's face A machine learning algorithm swaps out the faces frame-by-frame until it spits out a realistic, but fake, video To help other users create these videos, pervs upload "facesets", which are huge computer folders filled with a celebrity's face that can be easily fed through the "deepfakes" app
Buzz Feed
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
32 Things That'll Help You Have A Cool Backyard
A rolling cooler cart to provide you with the cool beverages you need on a warm, sunny day. It's got a built-in bottle opener and a drain plug for melted ice. Now you don't need to keep going back inside to grab drinks for you and your guests! Sunflower seed mix — watch nine types of sunflowers blossom in your garden this spring! If you've been missing that much-needed curb appeal, these low-maintenance flowers are just the ticket. An electric bug zapper so being outside is actually fun instead of an epic movie called Battle Against the Bloodsuckers. An outdoor projector that can connect with multiple multimedia devices, including a Fire TV Stick. Movie nights in the backyard just won you the Coolest Kids On The Block award. Outdoor string lights for creating a cozy and warm atmosphere. Plus, they were built to withstand all kinds of weather, so no need to worry about them being damaged by Mother Nature. Two packs of solar-powered garden lights that'll sway in the wind, making your garden look like it's home to a bunch of flitting fireflies. A giant stacking game to take building blocks to the next level. This game stacks to almost 4 feet, so take cover when they come tumbling down! And a jumbo 4-in-a-row game you can set up in your backyard because we've moved beyond tabletop games this summer. Not to mention, it's easy to assemble and comes with its own carrying bag for easy travel and storage. AND! A set of five giant dice that also comes with five big, laminated score cards if your Yahtzee skills deserve a stage as big as your backyard. Hate Yahtzee? No worries! This also comes with over 20 different games you can play. A darling clementine-shaped hanging bird feeder so you can offer any orioles in your neighborhood fruits and jams! A reversible and waterproof outdoor rug if you love being barefoot outside but hate getting dirt on your feet. This tightly woven rug is stain-resistant, UV-resistant and is made out of recycled plastic! A three-piece wicker chair and table set for the outdoor living room of your dreams. Or a three-piece wicker rocking chair and table set with comfy cushions to turn your backyard into the perfect lounging area. All you need now is a cold lemonade on that table and a good book in your hands. A double hammock that comes with a stand because the sun has been begging you to take a nap outside since it started peeking out of those spring clouds. Outdoor sconces so you can enjoy your backyard at night. These weatherproof and rust-resistant sconces provide the perfect amount of mood lighting. A lovely sail canopy for creating a shaded area in your backyard or on your patio. Just because the sun is out doesn't mean you have to suffer! A classic adjustable folding umbrella to protect you from the sun's rays while you enjoy a nice breeze and maybe even a cocktail if you should feel so bold. A five-tier vertical garden bed because you can use it to display your growing flowers, vegetables, and herbs! An outdoor misting system that can be attached to an awning, patio table umbrella, pergola, and whatever else you've got in your backyard! Just screw one end onto your hose and clip the rest of the cord around your outdoor lounge area. Or a flexible adjustable mister so you can bend it in the perfect direction and shape to make sure you and your guests get some targeted lovin'. A patio table mosquito net enclosure if those pesky pests are the only reason you haven't been able to enjoy your coveted outdoor space. An outdoor inflatable ottoman because you deserve to literally kick your feet up and relax. Especially in your backyard. These ottomans are water- and fade-resistant! A cute lil' rusty hen cut from steel to bring a little country livin' to your outdoor space. A durable, oversized inflatable lounge pool you'll find a way to take all your Zoom meetings in. And with this floating drink holder, that just got so much easier. A set of extendable marshmallow roasting forks because who has time to go hunting for the perfect stick when there's perfectly good chocolate to devour?! A puffy outdoor blanket made using the same materials you'd find in an insulated sleeping bag so you know you'll stay warm and dry as you picnic in your backyard. An oversized Adirondack chair with a cup holder that'll allow you to truly sit back and chill out. A rooster weathervane so you always know which way the wind is blowing. Made of steel, this weathervane was built to last! A weatherproof water garden fountain to help you turn your yard into a meditative oasis. Easy-to-install interlocking teak tiles perfect for elevating any outdoor space to the level of tropical resort spa. A cozy cotton hammock chair you'll sink into and never wanna leave. And why should you? It's even got a built-in side pocket to hold your phone while you're busy finding animals in the clouds. A stainless-steel fire pit to keep you warm on chilly spring nights as you make s'mores and share ghost stories. This smokeless fire pit even comes with a weather-resistant cover and a removable ash pan to make post-fire clean-up a breeze!
USA Today
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Connections hints, clues and answers on Thursday, May 8 2025
Connections hints, clues and answers on Thursday, May 8 2025 WARNING: THERE ARE CONNECTIONS SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT THE MAY 8, 2025 NYT CONNECTIONS ANSWER SPOILED FOR YOU. Ready? OK! Have you been playing Connections, the super fun word game from the New York Times that has people sharing those multi-colored squares on social media like they did with Wordle? It's pretty fun and sometimes very challenging, so we're here to help you out with some clues and the answer for the four categories that you need to know: 1. Think heart-pounding flicks. 2. Game in which you roll. 3. Think books. 4. What you might pick up in a forest, sort of. The answers are below this photo: 1. Heroes of action movie franchises 2. Needs for playing Yahtzee 3. Commit to paper 4. ____ stick Play more word games Looking for more word games?
