Tag: celebrities

Holy oil to anoint King Charles III on his coronation, has been consecrated in Jerusalem | CNN

[ad_1]

London
CNN
—

The sacred oil that will be used to anoint King Charles III at his coronation May 6, has been consecrated at a Christian holy site in Jerusalem, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The “chrism oil” was created using olives harvested from two groves on the Mount of Olives, a mountain ridge to the east of Jerusalem’s Old City, which holds religious importance to Christians.

Olives from the Monastery of Mary Magdalene and the Monastery of the Ascension were pressed just outside Bethlehem, where Christians believe Jesus was born, according to a statement.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said he wanted to see a new oil produced from the olives from the Mount of Olives since planning for the coronation began.

“This demonstrates the deep historic link between the Coronation, the Bible and the Holy Land. From ancient kings through to the present day, monarchs have been anointed with oil from this sacred place. As we prepare to anoint The King and The Queen Consort, I pray that they would be guided and strengthened by the Holy Spirit,” he said in the statement.

On coronation day, the Archbishop of Canterbury will perform the anointing service, a duty which has been undertaken by the post since 1066.

A ceremony at The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, saw the consecration of the oil on Friday. It was held by the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, and the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, The Most Reverend Hosam Naoum. Christians believe Jesus was crucified where the Holy Sepulchre now stands.

Charles’ coronation oil is based on the centuries-old formula used in his mother, Queen Elizabeth II’s anointment in 1953, but with some important differences.

The late Queen’s coronation oil included a concoction of orange, rose, cinnamon, musk and ambergris oils. Ambergris is a substance that originates from the intestine of the sperm whale.

The King’s sacred mix is made of oils of sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin, amber and orange blossom – without any ingredients from animals.

It will also be used to anoint Camilla, the Queen Consort, the statement added.

[ad_2]

Source link

March 4, 2023
Tom Sizemore, ‘Saving Private Ryan’ Actor, Dies At 61

[ad_1]

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Tom Sizemore, the “Saving Private Ryan” actor whose bright 1990s star burned out under the weight of his own domestic violence and drug convictions, died Friday at age 61.

The actor had suffered a brain aneurysm on Feb. 18 at his home in Los Angeles. He died in his sleep Friday at a hospital in Burbank, California, his manager Charles Lago said.

Sizemore became a star with acclaimed appearances in “Natural Born Killers” and the cult-classic crime thriller “Heat.” But serious substance dependency, abuse allegations and multiple run-ins with the law devastated his career, left him homeless and sent him to jail.

As the global #MeToo movement wave crested in late 2017, Sizemore was also accused of groping an 11-year-old Utah girl on set in 2003. He called the allegations “highly disturbing,” saying he would never inappropriately touch a child. Charges were not filed.

Despite the raft of legal trouble, Sizemore had scores of steady film and television credits — though his career never regained its onetime momentum. Aside from “Black Hawk Down” and “Pearl Harbor,” most of his 21st century roles came in low-budget, little-seen productions where he continued to play the gruff, tough guys he became famous for portraying.

“I was a guy who’d come from very little and risen to the top. I’d had the multimillion-dollar house, the Porsche, the restaurant I partially owned with Robert De Niro,” the Detroit-born Sizemore wrote in his 2013 memoir, “By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There.” “And now I had absolutely nothing.”

The book’s title was taken from a line uttered by his character in “Saving Private Ryan,” a role for which he garnered Oscar buzz. But he wrote that success turned him into a “spoiled movie star,” an “arrogant fool” and eventually “a hope-to-die addict.”

He racked up a string of domestic violence arrests. Sizemore was married once, to actor Maeve Quinlan, and was arrested on suspicion of beating her in 1997. While the charges were dropped, the couple divorced in 1999.

Sizemore was convicted of abusing ex-girlfriend Heidi Fleiss in 2003 — the same year he pleaded no contest and avoided trial in a separate abuse case — and sentenced to jail. The former Hollywood madam testified that he had punched her in the jaw at a Beverly Hills hotel, and beaten her in New York to the point where they couldn’t attend the “Black Hawk Down” premiere.

The sentencing judge said drug abuse was likely a catalyst but that testimony had revealed a man who had deep problems dealing with women. Fleiss called Sizemore “a zero” in a conversation with The Associated Press after his conviction.

Sizemore apologized in a letter, saying he was “chastened” and that “personal demons” had taken over his life, though he later denied abusing her and accused her of faking a picture showing her bruises.

Fleiss also sued Sizemore, saying she suffered emotional distress after he threatened to get her own probation revoked. Fleiss had been convicted in 1994 of running a high-priced call-girl ring. That lawsuit was settled on undisclosed terms.

Sizemore was the subject of two workplace sexual harassment lawsuits related to the 2002 CBS show “Robbery Homicide Division,” in which he played a police detective. He was arrested as recently as 2016 in another domestic violence case.

Sizemore ended up jailed from August 2007 to January 2009 for failing numerous drug tests while on probation and after Bakersfield, California, authorities found methamphetamine in his car.

“God’s trying to tell me he doesn’t want me using drugs because every time I use them I get caught,” Sizemore told The Bakersfield Californian in a jailhouse interview.

Sizemore told the AP in 2013 that he believed his dependency was related to the trappings of success. He struggled to maintain his emotional composure as he described a low point looking in the mirror: “I looked like I was 100 years old. I had no relationship with my kids; I had no work to speak off. I was living in squat.”

He appeared on the reality TV show “Celebrity Rehab” and its spinoff “Sober House,” telling the AP that he did the shows to receive help, but also partly to pay off accumulated debts that ran into the millions.

Many of Sizemore’s later-career films had a sci-fi, horror or action bent: In 2022 alone, he starred in movies with such titles as “Impuratus,” “Night of the Tommyknockers” and “Vampfather.” But Sizemore still nabbed a few meaty roles — including in the “Twin Peaks” revival — and guest spots on popular shows like “Entourage” and “Hawaii Five-O.”

A stuntman sued Sizemore and Paramount Pictures in 2016, saying he was injured when the allegedly intoxicated actor ran him over while filming USA’s “Shooter.” State records obtained by the AP showed that Sizemore was only supposed to be sitting in the unmoving car and that he “improvised at the end of the scene and drove away in his car.” Sizemore was fired from “Shooter” and the stuntman’s lawsuit was settled on undisclosed terms.

In addition to his film and TV credits, he was part of the voice cast for 2002′s “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” video game. He also taught classes at the LA West Acting Studio, according to recent advertisements.

He is survived by his 17-year-old twin sons, Jayden and Jagger, and his brother Paul, all of whom were by his side when he died.

“I’ve led an interesting life, but I can’t tell you what I’d give to be the guy you didn’t know anything about,” Sizemore wrote in his memoir.

[ad_2]

Source link

March 3, 2023
Jamie Lee Curtis hints that ‘Freaky Friday 2’ is really happening | CNN

[ad_1]

CNN
—

Jamie Lee Curtis has offered the ultimate hint that there is a “Freaky Friday” sequel in the works.

Released in 2003, the original fantasy-comedy centered on Dr. Tess Coleman (Curtis) and her teenage daughter Anna, played by Lindsay Lohan, who switch bodies with awkward and hilarious results.

Two decades on, and Curtis has hinted that fans should be preparing for a follow-up to the beloved Disney film, which was a remake of a 1976 film of the same name.

“It’s going to happen,” she told Variety at the Producers Guild of America Awards on Saturday. “Without saying there’s anything officially happening, I’m looking at you in this moment and saying, ‘Of course it’s going to happen.’ It’s going to happen.”

This is a significant update, as the “Halloween” star has been tantalizing fans for a while with her not-so-subtle “Freaky Friday” sequel hints.

Earlier this month, she shared a throwback photo of herself and Lohan on Instagram, along with the caption: “It’s Friday. I’m just sayin! Freaky fingers crossed! @lindsaylohan @disney.”

Lohan commented on the post with crossed fingers emojis as well as a heart-eyes smiley face and two hands up.

In an appearance on ABC’s “The View” in October, Curtis revealed she already had some ideas for the plot.

“I would like to see Lindsay be the hot grandma, and I would like to see me try to deal with toddlers today,” she said. “I want to be a helicopter parent in today’s world.”

CNN has reached out to Disney for comment.

While fans await official news of Curtis’ return to one of her best-loved roles, the star has been busy excelling in her other projects.

On Sunday night, she took home the SAG award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role for her acclaimed performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

[ad_2]

Source link

February 27, 2023
NAACP Image Awards 2023: How to watch and why the show still matters | CNN

[ad_1]

CNN
—

The 54th NAACP Image Awards is a week-long celebration of excellence in film, TV, music and literature that will culminate in a televised ceremony Saturday.

And while areas of the entertainment industry have worked to become more inclusive and diverse in recent years, Kyle Bowser, senior vice president of the NAACP’s Hollywood Bureau, told CNN the organization’s annual awards ceremony is still vital.

“We do have an underlying mission, and ours is to broaden the scope, widen the lens, if you will, in the critique and the evaluation of what excellence looks like,” he said.

Multiple honors have already been awarded, including outstanding ensemble cast in a motion picture for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” outstanding host in a talk or news/information program to Jennifer Hudson and outstanding breakthrough creative (television) to Quinta Brunson for her work on “Abbott Elementary.”

That’s not to say the main ceremony Saturday won’t have star power as well.

The presenters list alone is A-list Black Hollywood with talent like Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Taye Diggs, Issa Rae, Janelle Monáe, Jonathan Majors, Kerry Washington, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tracee Ellis Ross and Zendaya.

Not to mention Queen Latifah hosting.

“It’s an honor to host the 54th NAACP Image Awards, especially in the year we are celebrating 50 years of Hip Hop,” she said in a statement. “This is a night to celebrate Black excellence and Black contribution to our industry and beyond. Celebrating one another, lifting each other up and you know we’ll have fun doing it!”

There will also be several high-profile award recipients such as Serena Williams receiving the Jackie Robinson Sports Award and Gabrielle Union-Wade and Dwyane Wade the President’s Award.

The ceremony will air live Saturday at 8:00 p.m ET on BET. It will simulcast across Paramount Global networks, including BET HER, CBS, CMT, Comedy Central, LOGO, MTV, MTV2, Paramount Network, POP TV, Smithsonian, TV Land, and VH1.

A list of nominees in some of the 80 categories follows below.

A look back at some of the NAACP Image Awards Entertainer of the Year winners

Angela Bassett

Mary J. Blige

Quinta Brunson

Viola Davis

Zendaya

“A Jazzman’s Blues” (Netflix)

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Marvel Studios)

“Emancipation” (Apple TV)

“The Woman King” (Sony Pictures Releasing)

“TILL” (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)

Daniel Kaluuya – “Nope” (Universal Pictures)

Jonathan Majors – “Devotion” (Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Joshua Boone – “A Jazzman’s Blues” (Netflix)

Sterling K. Brown – “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” (Focus Features)

Will Smith – “Emancipation” (Apple)

Danielle Deadwyler – “TILL” (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)

Keke Palmer – “Alice” (Vertical Entertainment)

Letitia Wright – “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Marvel Studios)

Regina Hall – “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” (Focus Features)

Viola Davis – “The Woman King” (Sony Pictures Releasing)

Aldis Hodge – Black Adam (Warner Bros. Pictures / New Line Cinema)

Cliff “Method Man” Smith – On The Come Up (Paramount Pictures)

Jalyn Hall – TILL (United Artists Releasing/Orion Pictures)

John Boyega – The Woman King (Sony Pictures Releasing)

Tenoch Huerta – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel Studios)

Angela Bassett – “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Marvel Studios)

Danai Gurira – “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Marvel Studios)

Janelle Monáe – “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (Netflix)

Lashana Lynch – “The Woman King” (Sony Pictures Releasing)

Lupita Nyong’o – “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Marvel Studios)

“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

“Atlanta” (FX)

“black-ish” (ABC)

“Rap S**t” (HBO Max)

“The Wonder Years” (ABC)

Anthony Anderson – “black-ish” (ABC)

Cedric The Entertainer – “The Neighborhood” (CBS)

Donald Glover – “Atlanta” (FX)

Dulé Hill – “The Wonder Years” (ABC)

Mike Epps – “The Upshaws” (Netflix)

Loretta Devine – “Family Reunion” (Netflix)

Maya Rudolph – “Loot” (Apple TV+)

Quinta Brunson – “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

Tichina Arnold – “The Neighborhood” (CBS)

Tracee Ellis Ross – “black-ish” (ABC)

Brian Tyree Henry – “Atlanta” (FX)

Deon Cole – “black-ish” (ABC)

Kenan Thompson – “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Tyler James Williams – “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

William Stanford Davis – “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

Janelle James – “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

Jenifer Lewis – “black-ish” (ABC)

Marsai Martin – “black-ish” (ABC)

Sheryl Lee Ralph – “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

Wanda Sykes – “The Upshaws” (Netflix)

“Bel-Air” (Peacock)

“Bridgerton” (Netflix)

“Euphoria” (HBO Max)

“P-Valley” (Starz)

“Queen Sugar” (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)

Damson Idris – “Snowfall” (FX)

Jabari Banks – “Bel-Air” (Peacock)

Kofi Siriboe – “Queen Sugar” (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)

Nicco Annan – “P-Valley” (Starz)

Sterling K. Brown – “This Is Us” (NBC)

Angela Bassett – “9-1-1” (FOX)

Brandee Evans – “P-Valley” (Starz)

Queen Latifah – “The Equalizer” (CBS)

Rutina Wesley – “Queen Sugar” (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)

Zendaya – “Euphoria” (HBO Max)

Adrian Holmes – “Bel-Air” (Peacock)

Amin Joseph – “Snowfall” (FX)

Caleb McLaughlin – “Stranger Things” (Netflix)

Cliff “Method Man” Smith – “Power Book II: Ghost” (Starz)

J. Alphonse Nicholson – “P-Valley” (Starz)

Adjoa Andoh – “Bridgerton” (Netflix)

Bianca Lawson – “Queen Sugar” (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)

Loretta Devine – “P-Valley” (Starz)

Susan Kelechi Watson – “This Is Us” (NBC)

Tina Lifford – “Queen Sugar” (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)

“Carl Weber’s The Black Hamptons” (BET Networks)

“From Scratch” (Netflix)

“The Best Man: The Final Chapters” (Peacock)

“The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” (Apple TV+)

“Women of the Movement” (ABC)

Morris Chestnut – “The Best Man: The Final Chapters” (Peacock)

Samuel L. Jackson – “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” (Apple TV+)

Terrence Howard – “The Best Man: The Final Chapters” (Peacock)

Trevante Rhodes – “Mike” (Hulu)

Wendell Pierce – “Don’t Hang Up” (Bounce TV)

Niecy Nash-Betts – “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (Netflix)

Regina Hall – “The Best Man: The Final Chapters” (Peacock)

Sanaa Lathan – “The Best Man: The Final Chapters” (Peacock)

Viola Davis – “The First Lady” (Showtime)

Zoe Saldaña – “From Scratch” (Netflix)

Glynn Turman – “Women of the Movement” (ABC)

Keith David – “From Scratch” (Netflix)

Omar Benson Miller – “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” (Apple TV+)

Russell Hornsby – “Mike” (Hulu)

Terrence “TC” Carson – “A Wesley Christmas” (AMC)

Alexis Floyd – “Inventing Anna” (Netflix)

Danielle Deadwyler – “From Scratch” (Netflix)

Melissa De Sousa – “The Best Man: The Final Chapters” (Peacock)

Nia Long – “The Best Man: The Final Chapters” (Peacock)

Phylicia Rashad – “Little America” (Apple TV+)

[ad_2]

Source link

February 25, 2023
Pink reveals how a Cher show inspired her gravity defying performances | CNN

[ad_1]

CNN
—

Pink is talking about her new album, “Trustfall,” named in the spirit of the exercise of falling backwards into someone’s hands, trusting them to catch you.

“That’s a team building exercise. But to me it means in order to get out of bed in the morning right now, it feels like it requires a lot of trust in the universe and trust in yourself and trust in those around you and to drop your kids off at school and participate in elections and love vulnerably it just requires a lot,” the singer explained in a new episode of “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?”

Pink continued: “A lot of people feel like they’re falling backwards and we don’t know where the ground is and that’s a really unsettling feeling,” she added that the title “encapsulates how I feel right now.”

Its the same trust she needs to incorporate the aerial acrobatics she skillfully pulls off in her live performances.

“First of all, I thought, when did Pink become a circus performer?” Wallace asked.

Pink explained that as a kid she was a gymnast, starting training at just four years old and practicing five days a week for eight years.

“It’s in you,” she said. “I then became a singer and many, many, many, years later, I’m at a Cher concert in Vegas and I’m watching these dancers behind her and I’m going, ‘Why do they get to have all the fun? Why haven’t singers done this?’”

She decided in that moment that she could do both.

“I could do this. I was an asthmatic, really bad asthmatic kid. So, I had to do diaphragm training from very early on, which in turn was what I would have needed to do to learn how to sing upside down,” she said. “And it all just kind of worked out and I wanted to do–I wanted to try it and see if it was possible. Because it looked really fun, and it is.”

She added that her concert stunts have forced her to take her “craft very, very, very seriously.”

“Rock and roll is, you know, I see some artists out there with a bottle of wine or some whiskey on stage and it’s just sweaty and amazing and unpredictable. And for me, it’s a sport and I take it very seriously and I work really hard at it,” she said. “I’m always trying to top myself because it makes people happy. It makes me happy. When I fly around through the air, there’s, it’s just, it’s wonderful … you can’t imagine it.”

New episodes of “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” premiere Fridays on HBO Max and Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on CNN

[ad_2]

Source link

February 24, 2023
2 personal stories shed light on the unforeseen consequences of Brown v. Board of Education | CNN Politics

[ad_1]

CNN
—

Everett R. Berryman Jr. was 11 years old when the Supreme Court handed down the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which made racial segregation in public schools illegal.

But supervisors in Prince Edward County, Virginia, where Berryman was attending public school, had no intention of complying. Five years later, in 1959, as Berryman was looking ahead to attending 7th grade, the county shuttered all public schools and opened a private school – for White children only. It would take five years, an intervention by the Department of Justice and another Supreme Court order, before integrated public schooling in Prince Edward County proceeded.

Around the same time, in North Carolina, Dr. E.B. Palmer was working as the executive secretary of state for the North Carolina Teachers Association, advocating for Black teachers after Brown was decided.

“When the school system said ‘separate but equal,’ that was fine,” Palmer recalled to CNN. “But when we moved a little further, they tried to say, ‘We don’t want Black teachers teaching White students.’”

Nearly 40,000 teaching positions held by Black teachers in 17 southern and border states would be lost in the ensuring years, according to Samuel B. Ethridge, a National Education Association official who was a leader in the movement to integrate teacher organizations during the civil rights movement.

Today, Brown v. Board of Education is remembered as a watershed moment in the history of America’s civil rights progress and the fight against systemic racism. But the ruling also had the unintended effect of leaving behind thousands of Black students and educators whose fates were not considered when America moved to reshape its education system.

Berryman and Palmer shared their stories with CNN as part of the “History Refocused” series, which explores surprising and personal stories from America’s past that may bring new understanding of today’s conflicts.

The Supreme Court officially struck down the legal basis for segregated classrooms in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, but a second, follow-up ruling a year later outlined the process for implementing school desegregation. In “Brown II,” the Supreme Court ordered district courts to enforce desegregation “with all deliberate speed,” reasoning that such language would provide local authorities with time to adjust to the new law of the land.

Instead, those opposed to desegregation exploited the terms, including officials in Prince Edward County, who figured that by starving the local public school system of funding, they could do an end-run around the high court’s order by opening a private – and all-White – school.

“Even in cases where White children or White families rather could not afford to attend the school, they even charged as little as a dollar to allow White students to attend school,” Dawn Williams, dean of Howard University’s School of Education, told CNN. “Now, for the Black community – something totally different for the Black community. There were no forms of public schooling.”

To combat the lack of educational opportunities, members of the Black community in the area created a grassroots community center, which also served as a makeshift school, but it was not the real thing.

Two years into the lockout, the Berryman family looked for other ways to keep their children in school. They tried to enroll their children in the neighboring county of Appomattox, Virginia, only to find out that they had to live in the county and present a valid address to do so. The next step was to move in with a family friend.

At that point, Berryman was a 14-year-old who stood 6-foot-2 but was still in 7th grade, when he should have been in the 9th grade had he not missed out on years of public schooling.

“I was the tallest guy in the whole school,” he recalled.

Eventually, the Supreme Court had to become involved again. In 1964, it ruled that the time for desegregating schools “with all deliberate speed” had passed and that there was no justification for “denying these Prince Edward County school children their constitutional rights to an education equal to that afforded by the public schools in the other parts of Virginia.”

Berryman and his family returned to Prince Edward County when the public schools reopened, and he remembered feeling “happy to be back home.” But there were constant reminders of the toll taken on the Black community.

“We ran across students – all students were with us that hadn’t been in school for going on five years. And some of the students here began school at 10 years old. … And on the upper end, we had guys and girls graduating high school at 21 and 22 years old,” Berryman said. “So we had – it was like a kaleidoscope of pupils every which way in this grand scheme of school opening again.”

Brown was intended to protect education opportunities for students. It didn’t say anything about teachers whose jobs would be soon jeopardized by school integration, when Black students often moved to White facilities that had superior conditions.

In the wake of Brown, various tactics were used across the nation to undercut Black teachers and educators, from outright dismissals or demotions to forcing teachers to teach unfamiliar subjects or grades – making it easier to fire them based on poor performance.

In Alabama, tenure rules were rewritten in several counties and teachers believed they were dismissed because of their participation in the civil rights movement, the NEA found in a 1965 report. North Carolina and South Carolina repealed their teachers’ continuing contract laws.

“I had to spend day and night traveling all over the state following behind complaints of Black teachers being dismissed where schools were being desegregated,” recalled Palmer, the former official with the North Carolina Teachers Association.

Ethridge, writing in the Negro Educational Review in 1979, found that by the mid-1970s, 39,386 teaching positions had been lost by Black teachers as a result of desegregation in 17 states, mostly in the South. In the 1970-71 school year alone, the cumulative loss in income to the Black community in those states totaled $240,564,911, the NAACP found.

“The cumulative amount is staggering to the imagination,” Ethridge wrote in his research, noting that even as the Black student population grew in those years, the number of Black teachers decreased in those states.

The Black teaching force has never recovered from the tremendous losses. In the 2017-18 school year, even though Whites accounted for less than half of the students in public schools – the result of a steady increase in diversity over the last 30 years – White teachers made up 79% of the workforce, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, down from 87% three decades earlier. The percentage of public school Black teachers – 7% in 2017-18 – decreased one percentage point over that same time period.

“Sadly, the reasons for this disparity go far back, and a key impetus happened just as the nation attempted to fix our public education system,” Williams said.

[ad_2]

Source link

February 23, 2023
Letter written by King Charles to his ‘granny’ in 1955 found in attic | CNN

[ad_1]

CNN
—

A childhood letter written by King Charles to his “granny” has been discovered by a couple living in Warwickshire, England, as they cleared out their attic during the Christmas break.

“Dear Granny, I am sorry that you are ill. I hope you will be better soon,” the letter reads on one side, carefully written on lined Buckingham Palace notepaper and dated March 15, 1955, when the King was six years old.

“Lots of love from Charles,” it says on the other side, alongside colorful kisses and doodled circles.

It was discovered inside an envelope addressed from Queen Elizabeth II to the Queen Mother, providing a “three generation run,” Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers and who is responsible for the sale of the letter, told CNN Thursday.

Finding the letter, which Hanson estimates could fetch as much as £10,000 ($12,000) at auction, left the couple “gobsmacked” as they sifted through their loft.

“It had belonged to my late grandad Roland Stockdale,” the seller, a 49-year-old farm manager who has not been named, said in a statement.

“My wife said ‘wow, look at that!’ We were pretty gobsmacked but we weren’t sure whether anyone would be interested in it.”

Stockdale worked for the Metropolitan Police where he was part of the Queen’s personal protection force during the 1950s after he had left Carlisle, northern England, and his previous job as a farm worker, the seller added.

Stockdale’s folder containing the letter had “been gathering dust” in various attics for “30 to 40 years” as it was passed around family members following his death.

“I have absolutely no idea how he came to have the letter written by King Charles when he was a boy,” the seller said. “It’s one of many things he kept.”

Citing postcards and birthday greetings that Stockdale received from the Queen and Queen Mother, Hanson hypothesized that “these keepsakes were gifted to the officer” since he “was clearly so highly regarded.”

The couple found other royal memorabilia in the folder, including an invitation to a dance at Balmoral Castle, a note signed by the Queen Mother, gift tags signed by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, as well as a copy of the Queen’s 1956 Christmas broadcast.

The items will go on sale March 7.

[ad_2]

Source link

February 23, 2023
House January 6 investigator says it’s ‘likely’ 2020 election subversion probes will produce indictments | CNN Politics

[ad_1]

Washington
CNN
—

The top investigator on the House committee that probed the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack said Wednesday it is “likely” that the Georgia and federal investigations into efforts to subvert the 2020 presidential election will produce indictments.

Timothy Heaphy told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on “Erin Burnett OutFront” that “unless there is information inconsistent, which I don’t expect, I think there will likely be indictments both in Georgia and at the federal level.”

In Georgia, the foreperson of the Atlanta-based grand jury that investigated former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election told CNN on Tuesday that the panel is recommending multiple indictments and suggested “the big name” may be on the list.

The grand jury met for about seven months in Atlanta and heard testimony from 75 witnesses, including some of Trump’s closest advisers from his final weeks in the White House.

Now that the grand jury is finished, it’s up to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to review the recommendations and make charging decisions. Willis’ decisions in this case will reverberate in the 2024 presidential campaign and beyond.

Trump, who has launched his 2024 campaign for the White House, denies any criminal wrongdoing.

At the federal level, special counsel Jack Smith is overseeing parts of the criminal investigation into the Capitol attack and has subpoenaed members of Trump’s inner circle. On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that Smith had subpoenaed the former president’s daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner for testimony.

“I think it could be very important,” Heaphy said of the pair’s potential testimony.

“They were present for really significant events. The special counsel will want to hear about the president’s understanding of the election results and also what happened on January 6. And they both had direct communications with him about the events preceding the riot at the Capitol,” he said.

The special counsel has a massive amount of evidence already in-hand that it now needs to comb through, including evidence recently turned over by the House January 6 committee, subpoena documents provided by local officials in key states and discovery collected from lawyers for Trump allies late last year in a flurry of activity, at least some of which had not been reviewed as of early January, sources familiar with the investigation told CNN at the time.

“He will not stop because of a family relationship, because of purported executive privilege,” Heaphy said of Smith. “He believes that the law entitles him to all of that information, and he’s determined to get it.”

Ivanka Trump and Kushner previously testified to the House select committee, which expired in January after Republicans took control of the House. The panel had referred the former president to the Justice Department on four criminal charges in December, and while largely symbolic in nature, committee members stressed those referrals served as a way to document their views given that Congress cannot bring charges.

This story has been updated with additional information Wednesday.

[ad_2]

Source link

February 22, 2023
Special prosecutor in ‘Rust’ case drops firearm enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin | CNN

[ad_1]

CNN
—

The manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin relating to the 2021 fatal shooting on the set of the movie “Rust” have been downgraded by prosecutors in New Mexico, which will reduce the prison time the actor could face in the death of the movie’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.

The move comes after attorneys for Baldwin filed a motion this past month to have the firearm enhancement charge dropped, arguing prosecutors were incorrect.

A statement released by Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, said the enhancement charge was being dropped “to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys,” adding that “the prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys.”

The decision to drop that charge reduces the prison time Baldwin could face by at least five years.

Baldwin was formally charged in the case back in February, along with set’s armorer, Hannah Guiterrez Reed. The charges included two counts of involuntary manslaughter, the DA’s office said at the time.

Attorneys for both defendants previously insisted their respective clients are innocent.

Hutchins was struck and killed by a live round of ammunition fired from a prop gun that was being held by Baldwin, who maintains he did not pull the gun’s trigger.

The movie’s director Joel Souza was also shot and injured.

Earlier this month, the parents and sister of Hutchins sued Baldwin, as well as the movie’s production company and others over her death.

In January, a production attorney told CNN that Baldwin intends to complete the film and continue to star in the lead role.

[ad_2]

Source link

February 20, 2023
Megan Fox criticizes ‘baseless’ rumors about relationship in return to Instagram | CNN

[ad_1]

CNN
—

Megan Fox returned to Instagram on Sunday to address rumors about her relationship with fiancé Machine Gun Kelly.

“There has been no third party interference in this relationship of any kind,” Fox’s Instagram post read. “That includes, but is not limited to… actual humans, DMs, AI boys or succubus demons.”

Fox and Kelly announced their engagement in January 2022.

The actress drew the attention of tabloids last week after she deactivated her Instagram account.

The move prompted speculation that Fox’s actions – including a February 12 photo and caption that referenced Beyoncé’s biting ballad about suspected infidelity “Pray You Catch Me” – was related to her relationship with Kelly.

Fox dismissed the rumors as “random baseless news stories” in her statement this weekend, and asked that those reading to leave “innocent people alone now.”

Kelly has not addressed the situation.

Both are next set to make guest appearances on the upcoming third season of the FX series, “Dave.”

[ad_2]

Source link

February 19, 2023
King Charles turns to ‘Cats’ composer Andrew Lloyd Webber for flagship coronation music | CNN

[ad_1]

London
CNN
—

Britain’s King Charles III has enlisted the help of acclaimed British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber to write the flagship anthem for his upcoming coronation.

Charles’s coronation will take place on May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London, and will see Camilla, Queen Consort crowned alongside her husband.

The King has personally selected the musical program for the service, which will see “a range of musical styles and performers blend tradition, heritage and ceremony with new musical voices of today,” according to Buckingham Palace.

Twelve new pieces of music have been prepared for the occasion – including six orchestral works, five choral pieces and one organ commission – by several world-renowned composers whose styles include classical, sacred, film, television and musical theater.

Famed composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose hit musicals “Cats” and “Phantom of the Opera” have been performed around the world, said he was “incredibly honoured” to be involved.

“My anthem includes words slightly adapted from Psalm 98. I have scored it for the Westminster Abbey choir and organ, the ceremonial brass and orchestra,” Lloyd Webber said. “I hope my anthem reflects this joyful occasion.”

A Coronation March has been written by Patrick Doyle, an award-winning Scottish composer best known for his work on films like “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” “Gosford Park” and “Carlito’s Way.”

One of the more sentimental inclusions from the King is his choice to have Greek Orthodox music played during the service, performed by the Byzantine Chant Ensemble, in tribute to his father, the late Prince Philip, who died two years ago.

Meanwhile, musical themes from countries across the Commonwealth will feature in Iain Farrington’s new solo organ commission. The other new works have been created by Sarah Class, Nigel Hess, Paul Mealor, Tarik O’Regan, Roxanna Panufnik, Shirley J. Thompson, Judith Weir, Roderick Williams, and Debbie Wiseman.

A handpicked gospel choir – The Ascension Choir – is also set to perform as part of the service, in addition to the Choir of Westminster Abbey and the Choir of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace. They will be joined by girl choristers from the Chapel Choir of Methodist College, Belfast and from Truro Cathedral Choir. The traditional “Vivat” acclamations will be proclaimed by the King’s Scholars of Westminster School.

Andrew Nethsingha, organist and master of the choristers at Westminster Abbey, said all coronation services are a blend of “deeply-rooted tradition and contemporary innovation” and praised the new British monarch for “choosing fine musicians and accessible, communicative music for this great occasion.”

The ceremony will also include historic music featured in coronation services over the past four centuries by the likes of William Byrd, George Frideric Handel, Edward Elgar, Henry Walford Davies, William Walton, Hubert Parry and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Antonio Pappano, musical director of the Royal Opera House and conductor of the Coronation Orchestra, said: “His Majesty has chosen a most beautiful and varied programme that I believe will enhance the splendour of this very special celebration.”

Buckingham Palace previously revealed the coronation will be “a solemn religious service, as well as an occasion for celebration and pageantry,” conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

The three-day weekend at the beginning of May is set to include grand processions through central London, a star-studded concert at Windsor Castle in addition to celebrations across the country. Britons have been given an extra bank holiday and members of the public are being invited to join “The Big Help Out” by volunteering in their communities.

“Everyone is invited to join in, on any day,” Michelle Donelan, UK culture secretary, said in a statement. “Whether that is by hosting a special street party, watching the Coronation ceremony or spectacular concert on TV, or stepping forward during The Big Help Out to help causes that matter to them.”

[ad_2]

Source link

February 18, 2023
Unbelievable facts

[ad_1]

[ad_2]

Source link

February 16, 2023
Honey, the Heartthrobs Are Home

[ad_1]

For years, there’s been a void in Hollywood. Despite all the young, fresh talent parading along red carpets and across our screens, there was one type missing: the quintessential heartthrob.

Heartthrobs of yore had a hold on me — and on pop culture as a whole. And there have always been jawdroppingly beautiful people in Hollywood. That’s part of its whole thing. But heartthrobs are in their own class. Their swoon-worthy looks combined with their out-of-this-world charisma place them in a league of their own. But where have all the heartthrobs gone?

Despite male celebrities like Timothee Chalamet or Harry Styles winning our hearts, their energy doesn’t give heartthrob in classic Hollywood style.

Perhaps, in an age of social media, the endless scrum of influencers and TikTok stars have desensitized us to pure beauty. Liking a photo or scrolling through a feed is blasé compared to slavering over the latest TV interview with your heartthrob of choice and then plastering their limited-edition, J14 posters to your bedroom wall.

Or maybe Tarantino was right when he said that actors don’t play “leading men” anymore. “Part of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood is you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters,” he said in an interview in 2022. “But they’re not movie stars, right? Captain America is the star. Thor is the star.”

Though his statement got backlash, he was right … in a way. I miss the days when I’d go to the movies just to watch my heartthrob take the screen. Because that’s precisely what it means to be a heartthrob: you’re defined by your charisma, not the pedigree bestowed to you by the industry or a giant like Marvel.

It’s why Leonardo DiCaprio mysteriously remains alluring (though he is only allured by women under 25). It’s why Brad Pitt remains one of the most famous movie stars in the world, despite not winning an Oscar for acting until 2020.

But never fear, heartthrobs are here.

With the Oscars barrelling towards us, Vanity Fair just released its annual Hollywood Issue. And this year’s spread is a feast for the eyes.

This year’s coveted cover spot was awarded to Selena Gomez, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Ana de Armas, Jonathan Majors, Keke Palmer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Julia Garner, Regé-Jean Page, Emma Corrin, Hoyeon, and Jeremy Allen White.

Familiar faces like Keke Palmer and Selena Gomez entertained us as former child stars. But last year marked significant growth in their careers.

Newer faces like Florence Pugh, Julia Garner, Hoyeon, and Ana de Armas have been impressing the industry over the past few years and finally had landmark career breakthroughs in 2022.

But the most revelatory part of the list: the return of the heartthrob. Austin Butler! Jonathan Majors! Aaron Taylor-Johnson! Regé-Jean Page! Jeremy Allen White! Siri, play ‘Woman in Love’ by Barbra Streisand! Siri, add ‘My Man’ to the queue!

And. Vanity Fair, I want to thank you for your service. From the bottom of my throbbing heart. The creative direction held nothing back. Set a dark, sexy club, the entire set harkened back to old Hollywood. And though the diverse cast selected signals a long-awaited, inclusive standard of beauty, the charm of the classic Heartthrob is alive in this intergalactic generation of superstars.

[ad_2]

LKC

Source link

February 15, 2023
Armie Hammer’s ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers to host show about toxic relationships | CNN

[ad_1]

CNN
—

Armie Hammer’s ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers is set to host and executive produce a series about toxic relationships.

The show is currently in development with Investigation Discovery, Variety reports.

According to an official synopsis by the network, the show will explore “the complexities of toxic and traumatic relationships” and will be told through “interviews and firsthand accounts of survivors.” The series, not yet titled, “aims to empower victims with control of their own narratives.” (Investigation Discovery and CNN are both part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)

The series would not cover her marriage to Hammer.

Chambers and Hammer were married for 10 years before she filed for divorce in 2020. The former couple share two children.

Chambers publicly addressed the dissolution of their marriage in an interview with E! last September, stating they were in a “great place” with their co-parenting.

[ad_2]

Source link

February 15, 2023
Celine Dion helps Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sam Heughan find romance in ‘Love Again’ trailer | CNN

[ad_1]

CNN
—

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the trailer for Celine Dion’s new feature film debuted on Tuesday.

“Love Again” stars Dion, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and “Outlander” star Sam Heughan and follows Mira (Chopra Jonas), who is grieving the death of her fiancé by texting love notes to his old cell phone number. That number now belongs to Rob (Heughan), who is a journalist, and a romantic connection begins to form.

Naturally, Dion stars as herself in the rom-com and appears to help guide Rob toward love in the trailer.

Dion’s uber hit “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now” is played as the Grammy winner can be heard saying, “Love has a plan for each and everyone one of us.”

The trailer also mentions that new music from Dion is featured in the film.

“It’s a wonderful feel-good story, and I hope that people will like it and like the new songs too,” Dion told People magazine in an article published on Tuesday.

Chopra’s husband, Nick Jonas, also makes a hilarious cameo in the trailer. The singer appears in the back the of a taxi with a less-than-pleased-looking Chopra Jonas, awkwardly trying to make a move on her.

“Love Again” is the American film adaptation of Sofie Cramer’s 2009 novel, “SMS für dich (Text for You),” and will premiere in theaters on May 12.

Can you feel the power of love yet?

[ad_2]

Source link

February 14, 2023
Rihanna tells us she’s pregnant in the most entertaining way | CNN

[ad_1]

CNN
—

Rihanna didn’t introduce a new song during her Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show performance Sunday night but she did introduce a new pregnancy.

The entertainer sang a medley of her biggest hits while visibly pregnant with her second child, her representative has confirmed to CNN.

Online speculation about the pregnancy began as Rihanna opened her performance in Glendale, Arizona, on a floating stage wearing an all-red ensemble that appeared to show off a baby bump.

Last May, Rihanna welcomed her first child with rapper A$AP Rocky.

The singer spoke about motherhood during an interview as she prepared for her halftime show performance, saying becoming a mother made her feel like she can do anything.

“When you become a mom, there is something that just happens where you feel like you can take on the world,” said the musical icon and entrepreneur.

“The Super Bowl is one of the big stages in the world, so as scary as that was – because I haven’t been on stage in seven years – there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all,” said Rihanna, who last toured in 2016. “It’s important for me to do this this year. It’s important for representation. It’s important for my son to see that.”

The pregnancy didn’t appear to slow Rihanna down during the performance break from the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles showdown. She danced and belted out some of her best-known hits, surrounded by a crew of dancers dressed in white. She opened the show with “B**ch Better Have My Money,” before moving on to other entries on her long list of chart toppers, including, “We Found Love,” “Rude Boy,” “Work,” “Only Girl (In the World)” and “Umbrella.”

[ad_2]

Source link

February 13, 2023
Super Bowl LVII: Who scored and who fumbled on TV’s biggest stage | CNN

[ad_1]

CNN
—

Big celebrities, but often, not-so-great ads.

The Super Bowl presents a formidable challenge to advertisers, trying to justify the giant price tag for 30-second spots (as much as $7 million each, per Variety, for ads between kickoff and the final gun) by coming up with campaigns that feel as big as the game.

This year, the scales tipped heavily toward celebrity talent – in several cases, thrown together in incongruous bunches – in commercials that were loud but frequently didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

For starters, it helps when the talent has some kind of logical connection to the product, or at least figures into the creative in a way that advances that message. Being cute for its own sake can be fine, but it’s seldom particularly memorable.

Using that logic, bravo to Rakuten, a shopping site, for enlisting Alicia Silverstone to reprise her “Clueless” role as the shopping-obsessed Cher, which she slid into like an old private-school uniform; and thumbs down to a celebrity-studded spot for Michelob Ultra featuring Serena Williams, Brian Cox and a host of others in an odd tribute to “Caddyshack.”

Then again, this year’s crop of beer ads were mostly flat, especially given the high bar that Budweiser has customarily set for Super Bowls past. The main exception would be the Miller-Coors-Blue Moon spot, which was fun, if a little confusing.

As was noted before the game, crypto ads that sought to make a splash at Super Bowl LVI sat out this year’s showcase, a reminder that newer product categories brave entering the Super Bowl derby at their own peril.

Where were the other highlights, which were outnumbered (as usual) by the middling or low ones? Here’s a snap-decision breakdown of who scored and who fumbled on TV’s biggest stage. While this doesn’t include every spot that aired, if an ad featured four or more celebrities, assume it leaned toward the “loser” column.

Movies: The movie business hasn’t rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, but the number of ads for upcoming blockbusters (and hoped-for blockbusters) felt like a collective vote of confidence in theatrical movie-going. Hollywood will likely never completely bounce back in the streaming age, but the studios appeared to serve notice that they’re not giving up without a fight.

Of that roster of titles, give the nod to “The Flash,” which should stoke enormous interest in that Warner Bros. title (like CNN, a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery), and put the focus on the film instead of star Ezra Miller’s off-screen issues. Give honorable mention to “Indiana Jones” and “Creed” among the sequels, which also included pregame spots for “Transformers” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Also featured: “Air,” based on Michael Jordan’s Nike deal.

Ram: There were again several electric-car ads, but give Ram the gold medal for its cheeky double-entendre about “premature electrification.”

Rakuten: Would Silverstone waste this kind of opportunity to bask in a little of that “Clueless” nostalgia? As if.

T-Mobile: Bradley Cooper and his mother were pretty adorable, especially when she told him that while he’s been nominated for stuff, he hasn’t won anything. Much better, alas, than its John Travolta “Grease” homage.

Pepsi Zero Sugar: Steve Martin and Ben Stiller gave mini-classes on acting. So, do they really drink this stuff? Probably not, but it was fun to watch them pretend, and enhanced by the one-two punch of it.

PopCorners: Just the idea of a “Breaking Bad” reunion gets high marks (plus the line “We don’t eat our own supply”), even if the snack-food product might not have been the ideal vehicle for it.

Farmer’s Dog and Amazon: Two winners about our canine companions: Watching a dog’s life unfold, and thinking about losing one, served as one of the few genuine tearjerkers of the day; and on a lighter note, getting a destructive pooch a pal, via Amazon.

CrowdStrike: If only the cyber-security company had been around during the Trojan War. A great visual idea.

Google: Another spot that brought together unlikely celebrities – Amy Schumer, Doja Cat and NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo – but in a clever demonstration of how its pixel product can “fix” old photos.

Kia. If you forget your baby’s binky, this is definitely the car for you.

Disney: Marking its 100th anniversary, the studio ran a spot to demonstrate the sweeping depth of its content, and its intricate hold on childhood memories.

Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen: After the histrionics of Fox’s pregame show (never mind the issues with the sound being off), the announcers – handling their first Super Bowl – rose to the occasion, with a solid call that identified the problems with the field, debated a “game-altering penalty” at the end; didn’t get in the way of the action and reminded everyone this was, after all, a football game.

General Motors and Netflix: GM teamed with Netflix shows to push its EV cars, with Will Ferrell as the guide through shows like “Bridgerton” and “Stranger Things.” Not great, but at least it felt big and inventive.

Dunkin’: Ben Affleck (mostly) and Jennifer Lopez brought some celebrity sizzle to the idea of a star moonlighting at a donut store.

Paramount+: The advantage of featuring Sylvester Stallone in a streaming show, apparently, is one more star to help promote “Paramount Mountain.”

HeGetsUs.com. The ads for this evangelical campaign were certainly arresting in reminding people, say, that Jesus was a refugee, and to love everyone. Yet despite being one of the few ads about something that played Sunday, the goal of its message seemed muddled, a perception reinforced by details about the group behind it.

Workday: Rock stars differentiate between calling someone a rock star and actually being one. A fun idea, indifferently executed.

Etrade: Nobody ever went wrong with talking babies, but that said, talking babies is a pretty tired gimmick.

Weather Tech: A solid “Made in America” pitch.

Beer ads: Miles and Keleigh Sperry Teller seem like a cute couple to have a beer with. What the ad didn’t do is make a case for that being a Bud Light. Ditto for Budweiser connecting a six-pack of Bud to “Six Degrees of Separation” (or Kevin Bacon), which had the right vibe to it but felt like a bit of a stretch.

Booking.com: Hey, who couldn’t use a vacation? But why are we watching Melissa McCarthy sing about it?

Doritos: Jack Harlow, Missy Elliott and Elton John pushing triangles? Another case of trying to be too hip and just looking square.

Downy Unstoppables: Danny McBride likes it so much he’d change his name. But the whole thing was pretty McSilly.

DraftKings: Kevin Hart and a host of celebrities appeared, but will it be remembered as a great Super Bowl ad? Don’t bet on it.

Hellmann’s: Jon Hamm and Brie Larson in a refrigerator? Yes, mayonnaise goes with ham and Brie, but as Hamm said at the end, “That’s weird.”

Remy Martin: Serena Williams’ speech was stirring, but the product was a complete afterthought.

Planters: A Friars Club-style celebrity roast of Mr. Peanut felt like a weak attempt to butter up consumers.

Jeep: The “Freedom is electric” tag line worked. The CGI dancing animals, not so much.

Pringles: Another version of the hand stuck in the can campaign? That just feels like their creative is stuck in the ’90s.

Squarespace: Adam Driver is already pretty overexposed, but that commercial – featuring dozens of him – made him really overexposed.

Tubi: Someone should have talked the ad agency and marketing team out of going down that bizarre rabbit hole.

M&Ms: The only real comment to that Maya Rudolph spot was “???”

Limit/Break: Yes, saw the bar code. No, did not scan now.

[ad_2]

Source link

February 12, 2023
Hogwarts Legacy breaks record before official release, despite controversy | CNN Business

[ad_1]

New York
CNN
—

The world of Harry Potter is getting new life.

Hogwarts Legacy – the new open-world video game by Avalanche and Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, will be released Friday, to much anticipation.

The single-player game has been five years in the making — experts put its budget at $150 million. The game already broke a record on Twitch for being the most-watched single-player game, played by streamers who got the game early. And it’s the No. 1 pre-sale this week on gaming platform Steam.

“Open world style games are a really a big deal in the games industry,” said Joost van Dreunen, an adjunct professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business who was formerly CEO of games market research firm Super Data Research. “The expectations are quite high not just from the consumers, but also from the game makers themselves.”

Warner Bros. has had 20 years of experience putting out Harry Potter video games — but those were based on the movies. Not every game was a blockbuster hit, despite the fandom around the Harry Potter franchise.

Hogwarts Legacy is based on Harry Potter but is set in the late 1800s, well before the action in the Harry Potter books take place, and opens the Harry Potter World beyond Hogwarts Castle. Players are witch or wizard avatars that complete missions to gain skills such as flying on a broom.

“They definitely put out some big titles and worked with some big franchises, but their games have been hit and miss,” Dan Martin, general manager at videogamesnewyork says of the Warner Bros. games.

The game’s release has been delayed twice — building excitement from Potter fans but then fizzling. Videogamesnewyork, a New York City store that sells modern and retro video games, is ordering just enough games to their store based on pre-orders.

“We’re not over-ordering or under ordering. Only because we don’t know what to expect,” said Martin.

Part of the game’s expectation is based on controversy surrounding Harry Potter’s creator — J.K. Rowling. The author has repeatedly made anti-trans comments, and some of the movies’ actors have spoken out against them. Some gamers also are boycotting Hogwarts Legacy over the controversy.

“It’s not a commercial risk so much as is a cultural one,” van Dreunen said of the game’s release.

The game features a trans character, a first for the franchise. Though the Hogwarts Legacy character Sirona Ryan does not explicitly say she is trans, dialogue in a scene suggests it: “[It] took them a second to realize I was actually a witch, not a wizard,” the character said.

Warner Bros. Discovery said creating diverse characters was a high priority in order to encompass all people who play the games including the LGBTQIA+ community.

The company says J.K. Rowling is not involved in the Hogwarts Legacy game. But she does stand to make licensing royalties. Some fans have been turned off to the franchise because of Rowling’s comments, others say they won’t let that get in the way of experiencing a new world of Harry Potter.

“There was a time when I thought it was going to impact my view on the whole Harry Potter world, but I am able to separate the situation with JK Rowling with the Harry Potter world,” said Camila Rodrigues, a Harry Potter fan who says she plans to buy the game.

Despite the controversy, gaming experts anticipate a blockbuster release — easily selling 10 million copies, according to some estimates. In some ways, the game is a re-branding opportunity for the franchise.

“It perhaps has room to develop something new, to iterate on the existing relationship with its fan base,” said van Dreunen. “Perhaps making it into this big production video game allows the franchise to kind of save itself a little bit from the drag it’s been experiencing culturally.”

[ad_2]

Source link

February 11, 2023
A twisted tale of celebrity promotion, opaque transactions and allegations of racist tropes | CNN Business

[ad_1]

CNN
—

Sitting across from Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show,” Paris Hilton, wearing a sparkling neon green turtleneck dress and a high ponytail, looked at a picture of a glum cartoon ape and said it “reminds me of me.” The audience laughed. It did not look like her at all.

Hilton and Fallon were chatting about their NFTs – non-fungible tokens, typically digital art bought with cryptocurrency – from the Bored Ape Yacht Club. The camera zoomed in on framed printouts of the ape cartoons. “We’re both apes,” Fallon said. Hilton, with her signature vocal fry, replied, “Love it.”

“The Tonight Show” episode from January 2022 is a YouTube time capsule showing the temporary alliance between celebrity marketing and the crypto industry. Bored Ape Yacht Club was not the biggest crypto phenomenon, but it was one of the top beneficiaries of celebrity hype. That celebrity hype, in turn, helped draw new consumers to crypto — an industry rife with manipulation and fraud, and one that US regulators are now giving more scrutiny in the wake of the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. But for a time, when crypto’s prices seemed to have no limit, the money appeared too good for some to ask questions — questions like: Why are some of those apes wearing prison clothes?

“That was a very significant moment, because the audience for that show is very different from the typical crypto person,” explained Molly White, a software engineer and a fellow at the Harvard Library Innovation Lab. The Bored Apes — a computer-generated collection of 10,000 cartoons — were being presented as a status symbol, membership in an exclusive club. Hilton, Fallon, and other celebrities had joined — and viewers could join, too, if they bought an NFT.

A class action lawsuit, filed in December, alleges Hilton, Fallon, and other celebrities conspired in a “vast scheme” to artificially inflate the price of Bored Ape NFTs and enrich themselves, the crypto payments company they used to get the apes, MoonPay, and the company that made the Bored Apes, Yuga Labs.

Hilton and Fallon did not respond to requests for comment.

In April 2021, Yuga Labs released the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection of cartoon apes with a computer-generated combination of features and accessories, such as gold fur, a sailor hat, laser eyes, 3-D glasses, a cigarette, as well as “hip hop” clothes, a “pimp coat,” a prison jumpsuit, a pith helmet, and a “sushi chef” headband. The founders were anonymous, known only by their online screen names.

That fall, Hollywood agent Guy Oseary reached out to Yuga Labs, eventually investing in the company and joining its board. Soon celebrities started posting their Bored Apes on social media — including Oseary’s client Madonna, along with Steph Curry, Lil Baby, DJ Khaled, Snoop Dogg, Gwyneth Paltrow, and more. Bored Apes started selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Justin Bieber bought an ape for $1.3 million. By March 2022, Yuga got a $450 million venture capital investment, and was valued at $4 billion.

The class action lawsuit claims, “this purported interest in” Bored Apes “by high-profile taste makers was entirely manufactured by Oseary at the behest of” Yuga Labs. “In order to make the promotion of, and subsequent interest in, the BAYC NFTs appear to be organic (as opposed to being solely the result of a paid promotion), the Company needed a way to discreetly pay their celebrity cohorts.” The suit alleges they did this through MoonPay.

When Jimmy Fallon introduced his audience to crypto, he also presented a frictionless way to buy in: MoonPay, a payments company that allows customers to buy crypto through most major payment systems like with a credit card. In November 2021, Fallon said on “The Tonight Show” that he’d bought his first NFT through MoonPay. “MoonPay? MoonPay! I did my homework — Moonpay, which is like PayPal but for crypto,” Fallon said. The following January, when Hilton showed her ape on the show, she said, “You said you got it on MoonPay, so I went and I copied you.”

A few months later, in April 2022, MoonPay announced more than 60 celebrities and influencers had invested in the firm. MoonPay spokesman Justin Hamilton told CNN that Hilton became an investor, but not until after she spoke with Fallon on “The Tonight Show.” The FTC generally requires an endorser to disclose when they have a financial interest in promoting a company.

The celebrity hype and unbelievable prices generated enormous media interest. “Rolling Stone” minted NFTs of the magazine with Bored Apes on the cover. Guy Oseary was on the cover of “Variety” under the headline “NFT King.”

Independent journalists, under the names of Coffeezilla and Dirty Bubble Media, noticed blockchain ledger records suggesting not everything was as it appeared. Cryptocurrency is traded on the blockchain, a permanent and public ledger of every transaction. That means it can reveal financial relationships, if you figure out the right questions to ask.

Hours before Justin Bieber bought an ape for the equivalent of $1.3 million on January 29, 2022, Bieber received Ethereum worth about $2.5 million in his crypto wallet, the blockchain shows. A couple weeks before Post Malone released a music video in November 2021 in which he bought a Bored Ape through MoonPay, MoonPay transferred cryptocurrency then worth about $760,000 into the artist’s wallet, and sent two more payments, worth about $640,000, a couple weeks after. MoonPay admits it paid for the placement in Post Malone’s video but says other celebrities paid full price for their service in US dollars.

Joined @BoredApeYC ready for the reveal? Thanks @moonpay concierge pic.twitter.com/gzm1JQEHHF

— Gwyneth Paltrow (@GwynethPaltrow) January 26, 2022

Many celebrities who got apes thanked MoonPay on social media. Gwyneth Paltrow tweeted, “Joined @BoredApeYC ready for the reveal? Thanks @moonpay concierge.” The rapper Gunna posted on Instagram, “I Bought A @boredapeyachtclub NFT worth 300K No Cap ! His Name is BUTTA Thanks @moonpay !” Lil Baby mentioned MoonPay in his song “Top Priority.”

The blockchain shows MoonPay paying high prices for the apes, and then transferring them to purported celebrity wallets for free. MoonPay explains this as a service that helps wealthy people buy NFTs without setting up their own crypto wallet.

The company says the “white-glove” service was created because MoonPay’s CEO, Ivan Soto-Wright, had a lot of celebrity friends, and many of them asked how they could get an NFT. Jimmy Fallon, Lil Baby — they were Soto-Wright’s friends, Hamilton said.

CNN spoke to several former MoonPay employees who said they were skeptical the celebrities paid for their NFTs, because there was no evidence on the blockchain.

The company’s ape purchases have been significant. Since 2021, one of its wallets, “MoonPayHQ,” has spent at least $25 million on NFTs — 60% or about $15 million of that was spent on Bored Apes. The company told CNN they had 14 apes in a cold storage wallet, which offers more safety. It said that five of those NFTs were “purchased by concierge clients that are in the process of being transferred.” The last ape was purchased in April 2022, 10 months ago, according to blockchain records.

One influencer has said he was approached about an ape. In a Twitter Spaces audio chat last year, celebrity jeweler Ben Baller said, “Real talk: not once, not twice, three times, I’ve been offered a Bored Ape through MoonPay. … The fact that some of these super top-tier all-star NBA players have them? And I was like, ‘Yo this is all cap [lies.]’ They didn’t buy this sh*t.” Baller did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. MoonPay’s spokesman said this didn’t happen.

Oseary, the Hollywood agent and MoonPay/Yuga investor, texted CNN in response to a question: “NO ONE is paid to join the club and Yuga do NOT and have NOT given away any apes.” He said he paid full price for his Bored Ape, and so did Madonna.

Yuga Labs declined an on-the-record interview with CNN. In a statement, the company said, “In our view, these claims are opportunistic and parasitic. We strongly believe that they are without merit, and look forward to proving as much.” Hamilton, MoonPay’s spokesman, said of the lawsuit, “We look forward to it being dismissed.”

“The fine art market is a scam – that’s OK, at least there’s art going on,” said Max Gail, who’s been a blockchain developer since 2010, and founded Omakasea and Eth Gobblers.com. (Gail hosted the Twitter Space in which Baller discussed Bored Apes.) The NFT market, he said, “is like a parody of the fine art market. They took the same strategies that had been employed in the fine art market, but then distorted it with some strange crypto economics.”

Anonymous buyers and sellers dealing in items whose values are difficult to calculate has made the fine art market susceptible to money laundering, a Senate investigation found in 2020. In 2022, an average of more than half of NFT trading volume on the Ethereum blockchain was “wash” trading, according to an analysis at Dune Analytics. (Most NFTs are on Ethereum.) Essentially, wash trades are a transaction in which the buyer and seller are the same person, or they’re working together. Wash trading has been illegal in traditional finance since the Great Depression, because it can distort the market by making people believe there is a high volume of interest in the investment. The ability to open many anonymous cryptocurrency wallets makes wash trading NFTs easier. A Chainalysis report found one “prolific NFT wash trader” made 830 sales to self-financed wallets in 2021.

Though NFTs have been celebrated as the future of digital art, and a way for artists to earn royalties, many NFT collections operate more like securities — a financial instrument, like stocks or bonds, that hold some monetary value. “People will say that the technology itself has provided this whole new way of creating digital art,” Harvard’s Molly White said. “It’s not that unique. The unique part of it is the speculative bubble.”

The NFT marketplace does not always make sense even to those who benefit from it. “Bored Apes have gone from $100 to $100,000 in a year. Nothing appreciates that fast,” a successful NFT artist said. The artist’s own works had gone from a couple hundred dollars to tens of thousands. One of the artist’s major collectors “treats me as a commodity and my art is a commodity and he’s always pumping and dumping it. … It’s being treated as a financial vehicle.”

But there is pressure not to raise questions about the system. The NFT artist did not want to go on the record, saying it would be career suicide. “The big collectors watch for artists that FUD. And as soon as an artist FUDs, they get cancelled,” the artist said. FUD is “fear, uncertainty, and doubt,” or criticism of crypto.

Beyond how the Bored Ape NFTs are traded, what they depict is at issue in yet another Yuga Labs legal battle.

In the fall of 2021, accusations began swirling on social media that the Bored Ape Yacht Club contained visual references to racist memes from the troll site, 4chan. The artist Ryder Ripps — who’s worked with stars like Kanye West and Tame Impala — started tweeting about the claims of racist imagery. Ripps claims Guy Oseary, the Hollywood agent on Yuga’s board, called to pressure him to stop talking about the claims. (Oseary told CNN, “I can’t speak on active litigation.”)

Ripps doubled down and made a website cataloging the claims. Then, in an act he says was meant to protest the alleged racism and comment on the idea you can’t copy an NFT, Ripps made copycat NFTs he sold as RR/BAYC. Yuga sued Ripps for trademark infringement, and argues that his maligning of the Yuga apes is nothing more than a profiteering tactic. Ripps says Yuga is trying to silence its critics, and has doubled down on his claims as part of his defense in the trademark suit.

Yuga Labs called the accusations “the incoherent ramblings of a small group of for-profit conspiracy theorists.” However, the Yuga lawsuit against Ripps could affect the class action lawsuit against Yuga. Ripps’s lawyers have issued subpoenas to Paris Hilton and Jimmy Fallon.

To assert its trademark rights, Yuga must show that consumers associate its logos with its products, and it did so in a legal filing, in part, by pointing to celebrity owners “including TV host Jimmy Fallon…”

Ripps’s lawyer, Louis Tompros, asserts Yuga compensated celebrities for promoting its NFTs, and they did not disclose it. “And by doing that, in our view, they have gotten this public notoriety for their brand improperly,” Tompros told CNN. “And so having gotten it improperly, they now can’t go and assert that they have these rights.”

This week Yuga co-founder Wylie Aronow published a 24-page letter explaining that he was stepping back from the company and addressing widespread rumors that the company and its products were connected to the alt-right.

“I will soon call out this utter bullsh*t under oath,” he wrote.

So what are the racist references alleged by Ripps and others? To start, there’s what’s right on the surface: some of the NFTs are pictures of apes in “hip hop” clothes, a “pimp coat,” a prison uniform, a bone necklace, gold and diamond grills. Record executive Dame Dash, a crypto enthusiast, pointed out on a podcast last year that monkeys and apes are old racist tropes.

“Think if you were a racist, like ‘Guess what I’m gonna do? I’mma get Black people to love monkeys so much that they gonna buy them, wear them on their neck… go to something called ApeFest and they’re gonna like it!’ Wouldn’t that sound funny?” Dash said on the podcast. “That’s what’s happening.”

Dash told CNN he hadn’t intended to target Yuga directly. But he’d started to wonder if he was being trolled, given the ubiquity of apes in crypto. “Racism is different these days — you can’t be so overt about it. You have to kind of troll,” Dash said.

This week Yuga agreed to settle a lawsuit with a developer who worked with Ripps, with the developer agreeing to pay them $25,000 and saying he would reject all disparaging statements against Yuga Labs.

Ryan Hickman, a software engineer who also worked with Ripps on RR/BAYC, is also being sued separately by Yuga. Hickman, who is Black, thought the Bored Apes looked like stereotypical portrayals of Black people as stupid or lazy. He said he thought this would be obvious to most people the second they saw an image of a Bored Ape. But, he said, “then somebody says, ‘Well, it’s worth $100,000.’ They say, ‘Okay well, tell me more.’”

In a statement, Yuga said, “Our company and founders strongly condemn the spread of hate, in any form, against any group.” Hollywood agent Oseary said he’d never been on the troll site 4chan.

The crypto community has adopted a lot of terms — rekt, frens, wagmi — that were popularized on 4chan, and it’s not always clear if the person using them understands where they came from. “I doubt that they were a massive alt-right troll campaign,” Harvard’s Molly White said. “I do think it’s likely that the creators of the project basically included some nods to 4chan.”

“It’s not one thing that makes it racist. It’s everything together as a package,” programmer and 8chan founder Fredrick Brennan said, looking at comparisons between Pepe the Frog memes and Bored Apes. Brennan took an interest in the claims that Yuga referenced 4chan memes, because he’d seen them so often when he was running 8chan, a similar troll site. He quit 8chan in 2016, and in 2019 pushed for it to be taken down because it had become a hub for extremist violence. He began to suspect the Yuga founders were like the people he used to know.

Take one of the apes’ characteristics, which Yuga calls a “sushi chef headband.” Brennan reads and speaks Japanese, and saw the headband actually said “kamikaze,” which has been used as a slur against Japanese people. A similar headband appeared on a Pepe meme. “That one was the most shocking,” he told CNN.

In a legal filing connected to the Ripps case, Yuga said the apes reflected a combination of many traits, “not any person’s purported racism.”

“I was hoping, in my eternal optimism,” Brennan said, “that people would become a lot more skeptical of tech bros. … And that liberal — so-called — celebrities in Hollywood would view these people with suspicion. Apparently not.”

– CORRECTION: This story has been updated to clarify when Paris Hilton invested in MoonPay. Jimmy Fallon is not an investor, a company spokesman said.

[ad_2]

Source link

February 10, 2023
Family of slain cinematographer sues Alec Baldwin and ‘Rust’ production company | CNN

[ad_1]

CNN
—

The parents and sister of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who was shot and killed during a rehearsal on the ‘Rust’ film set in 2021 are suing actor Alec Baldwin, the movie’s production company and others over her death.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges the defendants caused intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and loss of consortium in Hutchins’ untimely death, attorney Gloria Allred announced in a news conference.

Hutchins’ parents and sister live in Ukraine and are struggling to cope with the tragedy while living “in the midst of Putin’s war,” Allred said. Hutchins’ mother is a nurse, treating soldiers in a hospital near Kiev, and her brother-in-law is a soldier fighting in the war.

CNN is seeking comment from Baldwin and the film’s production company.

An attorney for on-set armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was also named in the suit, had no comment.

Last fall, a settlement was reached between Baldwin and the production company and Matthew Hutchins, Halyna Hutchins’ widower. Allred said this lawsuit is necessary because these family members also deserve accountability and justice, and claims that Baldwin and the film production team have not reached out these family members.

“They haven’t heard from Alec Baldwin – the man with the gun,” Allred said, “the gun that ended the life of their daughter.”

Baldwin and movie set armorer Gutierrez Reed are also facing criminal charges related to the shooting. David Halls, also named in the suit, has reached a plea agreement with the Santa Fe County District Attorney’s Office.

“What we seek is an acknowledgement of what was taken – the loving relationship,” said Allred. “Whatever happens with the criminal case, we are pursuing this civil lawsuit for them to win justice.”

Allred added: “There’s no real justice when someone’s been killed.”

“Justice is in finding the truth,” added co-counsel John Carpenter.

[ad_2]

Source link

February 9, 2023