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Tag: Documentary

  • Vegas Comic Hit Up Audiences to Fund His Gambling Addiction for 20 Years – Casino.org

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    Posted on: September 16, 2025, 01:41h. 

    Last updated on: September 16, 2025, 03:08h.

    • Vinnie Favorito was once touted in Las Vegas as the next Don Rickles
    • In addition to being a hard-working comic, Favorito was also a hardcore gambler known for hitting up his audience members for money
    • A new documentary shines a spotlight on Favorito’s career and gambling addiction 

    In the days of the Rat Pack, if a cocktail server needed financial help for a family emergency, Frank Sinatra would gladly tip her a hundy. In the early 2000s, it was the reverse — at least for some who attended the thousands of Las Vegas Strip performances by comic Vinnie Favorito.

    Vinnie Favorito poses in 2006, when he was at the top of his career game and the bottom of his craps one. (Image: Getty)

    The former Strip headliner would ask pretty much anyone he perceived as having money to loan him some of it.

    “Vinnie Plays Vegas: The Con Man of Comedy,” now streaming on Amazon Prime and Apple TV, is a documentary exploring the rise and downfall of an entertainer who preyed on gullible audience members to fund his gambling addiction.

    “I wanted to pay everybody back,” Favorito came clean to director Brian Burkhardt, his friend and fellow comedian, in the film, “but you get deeper and deeper and deeper like a drug, and you’re lying. You’re lying all the time.”

    The promotional art for a new Amazon Prime documentary about Favorito. (Image: Amazon Prime)

    An insult comic once touted as the next Don Rickles, Favorito has always leaned heavily into crowd work. That’s when you ask audience members where they’re from and what they do for a living before crafting appropriate zingers.

    But unlike Rickles, Favorito was fishing for marks as well as comedy material.

    After his shows, he approached the audience members who identified themselves as having six-figure jobs and hit them up. They were usually good for $1,000 to $15K each.

    “It’s kind of [the] same skill,” said Mike Weatherford, a co-writer of the film, who documented Favorito’s exploits during his time as the entertainment reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The guy who was a doctor was the one he’d made sure to shake hands with after the show and, say, ‘Hey, why don’t we play golf?’”

    Favorito performed this act (and con) at venues including Binion’s, O’Shea’s, the Flamingo, and the Westgate for nearly 20 years.

    Even after the Flamingo fired him for borrowing from one of their waitresses, he continued. Some of the victims who spoke in the documentary recalled giving him money on multiple occasions.

    “I’m not trying to make an excuse,” Favorito added. “But when you’re trying to chase the money and make that easy shortcut, everything goes south, and you don’t realize how deep you get. Now I’m so behind with people, and you’re trying to keep track of your own story … I’ve got to play the carnival game that you can hit a jackpot hand on. But the dream never came.”

    Comic Relief

    In September 2016, Favorito declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy to give himself a fresh start. More than 60 creditors jockeyed for pennies on the more than a million dollars he officially owed. There’s no telling how much more he owed to friends, co-workers, and fans unofficially.

    How many people out there have a credit card that they couldn’t pay, years ago or now?” Favorito asked. “It’s kind of the same thing. You’re borrowing money, you know you don’t have the money to pay it, and later on, you’re going to end up trying to get out of the card.”

    Weatherford told Casino.org that he doesn’t feel that merely coming clean about his addiction will be adequate to restore Favorito’s reputation — “unless he’s doing an apology tour and raising money for Gamblers Anonymous.”

    And Favorito doesn’t seem to disagree.

    “I’m the biggest piece of shit in the world for what I did,” he told Burkhardt. “I’ll always be looked at as the gambler. Don’t lend Vinnie money. You can’t escape that.”

    Favorito still performs in Vegas. His show is at the 170-seat Robin Leach Lounge at the Notoriety Live theater downtown.

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    Corey Levitan

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  • Hitler Confidant Leni Riefenstahl Always Said She Was Just a Filmmaker. A New Doc Reveals the Truth

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    That’s where access to Riefenstahl’s collection of memories came in. Veiel could use them to cut through her denials like a scalpel. Riefenstahl’s own photos, typed notes, and audio tapes rebut the arguments she made from talk show couches after the war, a seamless and calm dissection that should put to rest the vague defenses—maybe she really wasn’t aware of the horrors of the Holocaust—many of us heard in high school or college classes before we were shown Triumph of the Will.

    Those defenses were seemingly accepted by the Telluride Film Festival, which honored her in 1974. Riefenstahl’s contributions to the art of nonfiction filmmaking had not received the recognition they deserved, a spokesperson for Telluride said at the time, because “Leni has been maligned and called a Nazi swine.” In the years since, techniques Riefenstahl brought to the forefront—such as the use of long-focus lenses and sweeping, aerial photography—have been adopted by filmmakers like George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola (among many others), both of whom she influenced.

    “She created masterpieces,” Maischberger admits. “She was a fantastic editor, and had a sense of how to put a picture together in a way that it would be a fantastic experience, very emotional. But she was so close to evil. It was a pact with the devil.”

    Riefenstahl’s estate has a lot to teach us about the contemporary political climate. The parallels between her era and ours are striking: Even today, we see the world’s richest men prostrating themselves before an aspiring autocrat, creatives and news organizations seemingly seeking to normalize a self-proclaimed king, and various organized displays of military force. As Veiel considered Riefenstahl’s work for Hitler, he was thinking about all that too.

    “There’s something between the lines which is telling us something not only about the present, but about the future,” he says. “The longing for this strongness and the contempt of weakness, the contempt of the foreigners.”

    This is demonstrated most chillingly in Riefenstahl’s recordings of phone calls she received after media appearances in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s. Many of them express support for Riefenstahl—not as the unfairly maligned victim she presented herself as, but as a Nazi propagandist. Some of her fans specifically praised her work for the Nazis and the viewpoints reflected therein.

    Veiel points to one call in particular as proof that in many corners, Riefenstahl wasn’t just forgiven—she was embraced. “The guy says, ‘Well, it will take one or two generations, and then Germany will find its way back to dignity, morality, order, virtue,’” says Veiel. Instead of arguing, Riefenstahl agrees with the caller, saying that the German people are predestined to return to the values and glory they had when she was making her films.

    With Riefenstahl’s leanings more clear, Maischberger is hopeful that students of film who have excused Riefenstahl in the past will reconsider. “You should not be intrigued by someone’s talent if the soul is as rotten as this soul was,” she says. “And there is no way to separate politics and art here, because this art wouldn’t exist without the politics.”

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    Eve Batey

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  • John Candy Doc Trailer Dropped, and Boy I Think My Allergies Are Kicking In

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    Zach

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  • Shoshannah Stern Broke Barriers as a Deaf Actor. Then Marlee Matlin Asked Her to Direct

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    Deep into an evening spent on the set of the Sundance series This Close, Shoshannah Stern and Marlee Matlin started chatting while waiting to resume filming on a long dinner scene. The pair had already bonded as deaf actors. Stern, who also served as the show’s co-creator and executive producer, had found great inspiration in her Oscar-winning co-star. She can’t recall what they were talking about, exactly, but at a certain point, she noticed Matlin staring at her.

    “She’s looking at me and she says, ‘You need to direct,’” Stern says.

    What was going on in Matlin’s head at that moment?

    “It was late at night, and I kept thinking as I was watching her that she’s been around this industry for a while—and it just popped into my head,” she says. “She doesn’t give up easily when it comes to writing. She doesn’t give up easily when it comes to acting. She sets her mind to it. So why not go beyond that, and go up beyond to direct?”

    Around this time, producers had approached Matlin interested in making a documentary about her life. She stipulated that she would participate only if Stern—who, again, had never directed before—helmed the film. Years later, Stern’s Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore is critically acclaimed, award-winning, and now playing in select theaters. (It is also available for digital rental or purchase.) The film offers a nuanced portrait of a Hollywood icon through Stern’s bold use of craft and narrative.

    Still, that night on the This Close set, Stern didn’t feel remotely ready to take such a project on. She had built her own acting career, playing roles on major series like Weeds and Grey’s Anatomy, before finding her voice as a screenwriter. “I literally had never thought about [directing] before,” Stern says, speaking in American Sign Language beside an interpreter. “I didn’t think I could. I didn’t think I would be allowed to.”

    When I later relay this Matlin over Zoom, her face falls. “I’m basically experiencing PTSD as a result of those words being used. A lot of kids who are deaf experience those same words,” Matlin says. “I’m glad that she was able to change her mind about feeling ‘not allowed’ to say, ‘Fuck off. Fuck off.’”

    Stern grew up in the Bay Area to a fourth-generation deaf family. Her mother was a stage actor. As a kid, she wanted to follow in those footsteps. This was before the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, though. “There were almost no captions on TV—so you’re hungry for information, you’re hungry for stories. That makes you very curious,” Stern says. “I’m always asking my friends who can hear, ‘What’s the other table talking about?’ They’re usually like, ‘I don’t know, I’m not listening.’ I would never stop listening, if I could.”

    We’re pretty much by ourselves on this warm July day, however, sitting in a quiet vegan restaurant near her Los Angeles home. After she orders her lunch, Stern tells me about the challenges she faced in chasing her dreams. While she planned to study theater at college, her education was supported by the Vocational Rehabilitation program, which helps many deaf people in the transition out of high school. It requires program approval for any major. “You don’t really have freedom. They said, ‘No, [theater] is not a reasonable major to have. You’re not going to be a contributing member of society if you major in theater,’” Stern says. She chose English, while still acting in plays at Gallaudet University whenever she could.

    During the winter break before her final semester, she went home and told her parents she was going to quit acting for good. The next day, she got an email from Warner Bros. with an audition offer.

    The secretary for Gallaudet’s theater department had recommended Stern to the casting agents on the sitcom Off Centre, created by the Weitz brothers of American Pie fame. “She gave them my email address. I didn’t have an agent—I didn’t have anything. I was a college student,” Stern says. She booked the cheapest flight she could down to LA and completed the audition. Then she booked the part, and has essentially been in Hollywood ever since.

    Even when auditioning for deaf parts throughout the aughts, Stern was often the only deaf actor in the room. This was decades out from Children of a Lesser God, Randa Haines’s searing 1986 take on the romantic drama that made Matlin the first-ever deaf actor to win an Oscar. (Troy Kotsur became the second for CODA, which also starred Matlin, in 2022.) Stern bristles when hearing that movie called “groundbreaking,” to say nothing of other milestones achieved by her and her peers before and since. “Stories about deaf people can be groundbreaking. They can,” Stern says. “But I would like to think that it’s because they push perspective, they push the form, they push understanding, they push the nuance.”

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  • Finding Meaning in Virtual Worlds: How Online Gaming and Digital Communities Can Transform Lives

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    Virtual worlds and online gaming have become a new source of meaning, purpose, and belonging in today’s world, especially for those who struggle with loneliness, social anxiety, or physical disabilities. The new documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin shares the inspiring story of Mats Steen, a young Norwegian man with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, who built a meaningful life through the popular game World of Warcraft.

    The digital world is sometimes criticized for being a “shallow escape” from real life. However, for many it can be a reliable source of meaning, connection, and purpose—especially for those who may find it difficult to fulfill certain needs and values in their regular daily lives.

    The Remarkable Life of Ibelin

    The 2024 documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin is an insightful and heartfelt story on how people find real meaning, connection, and purpose through online gaming and virtual worlds.

    Mats Steen, a young Norwegian man living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, found freedom and fulfillment through his digital persona, Ibelin, in the popular video game World of Warcraft. Mats’ physical limitations were significant, but in Azeroth, he experienced life without barriers.

    His parents only discovered the extent of his online relationships after his death, realizing that the world they thought was isolating had actually given Mats purpose and belonging. For eight years, Mats was an active member of the Starlight community, a guild within World of Warcraft that became like a family to him. Every evening, Mats would log in to talk, roleplay, and have fun with dozens of online friends. Throughout those years, he dedicated over 20,000 hours to the game and participated in conversations that filled more than 42,000 pages of chat logs.

    The documentary used these chat logs to recreate Ibelin’s life within the game, including sentimental and meaningful moments with his online friends Rumour and Reike. Viewers get to witness, through these virtual interactions, how Mats / Ibelin found a place where he was valued not for his physical abilities, but for his personality, humor, and kindness.

    Through this digital world, Mats was able to find a sense of purpose and belonging. As he says in the documentary, “Games are my sanctuary. I am safe here, feel valued and respected.”

    Finding Love and Romantic Fulfillment in Virtual Space

    Due to his physical condition, Mats struggled to find love and romance at school or among real life friends. However, through his virtual avatar Ibelin in the game, Mats was able to experience rare moments of romantic connection that he never thought possible. For once, he was able to connect with people just based on who they are on the inside; as Mats observed, “Everyone looks good in this world, so looks don’t matter, it’s about personality.”

    In World of Warcraft, Mats formed a romantic bond with a player known as Rumour. Their connection began with playful moments, like when Rumour stole his hat “just to see what happens,” and gradually grew into a deeper and more significant connection over time. One of the most memorable moments was their virtual kiss, which Mats described as, “The closest thing I’ve ever been to a crush my entire life.” Mats would give her digital gifts and flowers, and she reciprocated by drawing a real-life picture of their characters embracing—a gift Mats would hang in his room.

    Real-World Emotional Bonds

    These digital connections often spilled over into real lives and deep emotional bonds.

    One day, Rumour mysteriously disappeared from the game and stopped playing. Mats only later found out that her parents had taken her computer away due to her poor grades. This sudden disconnect deeply affected Rumour, whose real name was Lisette, and she began struggling with depression because she could no longer connect with her online friends. Mats, finding out about her pain, wrote a heartfelt letter to her parents, pleading with them to return her computer and emphasizing the value of the relationships she had formed in the digital world. His support helped Lisette during one of the most challenging periods she faced, showing how genuine and meaningful digital bonds can be, even outside of virtual spaces.

    Another one of his gaming friends, Xenia, known as Reike in the game, struggled to connect with her autistic son. Mats encouraged her to try gaming as a way to bridge the gap, and through World of Warcraft, Xenia was able to find new ways to communicate and bond with her son, including giving each other “virtual hugs,” which was a big deal because her son struggled with human touch in the real world. Xenia also said that her son could now share things with her that he normally couldn’t in person or face-to-face, improving their overall ability to communicate and connect through the shared experience of video games. 

    These are just a couple examples of how Mats’ digital relationships had significant, positive effects on the real lives of those around him, illustrating the powerful potential of online communities to bring about meaningful change.

    Opening Up About His Condition

    Mats took a long time to open up about his physical condition to the other members of Starlight. Feeling completely protected behind his virtual persona, Mats could ignore his material reality and didn’t have to worry about people showing him superficial pity or sympathy because of his illness. 

    This hesitation to open up and be vulnerable unfortunately led to some missed opportunities, including missed phone calls and video chats with his online friends. And during a real-life meetup and party for all the members of Starlight, Mats ended up being one of the few to not attend.

    Despite his fears of vulnerability, Mats eventually found the courage to open up as his illness progressed. He shared his fears of dying without meaning anything to anyone with Reike/Xenia, who reminded him of the profound impact he had made on her life and her son’s life. She then listed all the other people he had positively influenced, proving just how meaningful his presence had been over the years.

    Ibelin’s Funeral and Legacy

    After Mats’ death, the emotional weight of his digital connections became evident. When his parents announced his death on his blog, there was an outpouring of emails filled with love, sympathy, and support for Mats / Ibelin and his family. One email read, “What mattered to Mats was being able to spread joy in our lives. And stuff I learned from his example has changed the way I think about life. I hope that wherever he is, he knows that he’s remembered and treasured, and smiling right now.” Five of his online friends from multiple different countries attended his funeral, showing how deeply these connections extended outside of the virtual world. The Starlight community also organized their own virtual funeral for Ibelin, which has now become an annual tradition to honor his memory.

    Studies Supporting the Value of Online Gaming

    A well-known study (PDF) by Nick Yee (2006) identified three primary motivations for playing MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games), such as World of Warcraft. Each of these motivations can be seen in Mats’ experience as Ibelin:

    • Achievement: The drive to accomplish goals, gain recognition, and feel a sense of success. Mats fulfilled important roles within the game, like his ‘investigator job,’ which gave him a sense of duty and made him feel valued and respected as a member of the Starlight team.
    • Social Interaction: The desire to connect, build relationships, and be part of a community. Mats was an active member of the Starlight community, where he built meaningful friendships both online and offline, including his connections with Reike (Xenia) and Rumour (Lisette).
    • Immersion: The desire to lose oneself in a fantasy world and experience life through a completely new perspective. Mats immersed himself in his avatar Ibelin and the virtual world of Azeroth, finding freedom from his chronic illness and experiencing life in a way that was uniquely empowering and uplifting. 

    In another related study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, researchers found that players often experience deep social connections within their gaming communities which can help alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation, especially for those who struggle with social anxiety or shyness. And a study in Computers in Human Behavior indicated that the collaborative nature of online games encourages many pro-social attributes such as improved communication, trust, and shared purpose.

    All of these elements are evident in Mats’ story, where his participation in the Starlight community gave him a valued role within a group and elevated his sense of identity and self-worth – all of which are important pillars in building a meaningful life. For individuals facing challenges like physical disabilities or social anxiety, online games can provide an accessible way to fulfill essential psychological needs that may be harder to meet in the physical world.

    Feeling Like You Made a Difference Somewhere

    One of the most meaningful aspects of Mats’ journey as Ibelin was his desire to make a difference in the lives of others. Despite his fears of dying without leaving a mark, Mats’ impact was undeniable. Through his friendships with Rumour, Reike, and others, he provided emotional support, created lasting memories, and changed lives for the better. His story reminds us that feeling like we have made a difference — whether in the physical or digital world —is a fundamental human need that gives life purpose.

    The annual virtual memorials held by the Starlight community, the heartfelt emails his parents received, and the international attendance at his funeral are all powerful symbols of the difference Mats made. His story shows that creating a positive impact on others isn’t just about physical presence, but ultimately the energy you give to others.

    Conclusion

    The Remarkable Life of Ibelin invites us to reconsider how we view digital spaces and the potential they hold for providing meaning, connection, and purpose. The emotional weight of Mats’ story moved me deeply—I’ll admit that by the end of the documentary I was tearing up a little bit, but that shows how powerful “just digital” relationships can be and how inseparable they are from our broader reality. For Mats Steen, World of Warcraft was more than just a game—it was a lifeline, a place where he could be a stronger and more confident version of himself, find love and romantic connection, and support his friends in a real and tangible way. His story is a powerful reminder that behind every avatar is a real person, and that the connections we form online can be just as enriching and life-changing as those we form in the physical world.  

    If you’re looking for more insightful documentaries, check out my recommended list of documentaries here.



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    Steven Handel

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  • Netflix, TikTok made the Menendez mansion into a true-crime landmark. Beverly Hills isn’t happy

    Netflix, TikTok made the Menendez mansion into a true-crime landmark. Beverly Hills isn’t happy

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    First, it was a driver of a sedan slowing down to a crawl and pointing as they passed the Spanish-style mansion, draped in elm leaves and hidden behind a privacy fence.

    Then came a group of teenage girls running out of a van for selfies, followed by bikers, who stopped to see what all the ruckus was about. In the end, they all had the same question.

    “Is that the right house?”

    In recent weeks, the quietude of this affluent Beverly Hills neighborhood has been filled with the buzzing of tourists and true crime fanatics all swarming to peek at the infamous Menendez mansion on Elm Drive — where two brothers murdered their parents in 1989. The case has received renewed attention after a Netflix show and documentary profiled their case and L.A. County Dist. Atty. George Gascón announced he recommends they be resentenced after new evidence that they had been molested by their father came to light, which could make them eligible for parole.

    A person takes a photo of the Menendez brothers’ former mansion in Beverly Hills.

    (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)

    In just the last month, Beverly Hills police officials say, officers have responded to 18 calls for service related to noise complaints and trespassing concerns around the mansion.

    “There’s people all hours of the night,” said Elm Drive resident Mindy R., who declined to provide her full name out of concern for her safety because of all the recent visitors. “People are getting out of their cars, blocking our driveway.”

    Now she and her neighbors call the police and tow companies to manage the crowd. It was nothing but the occasional tour bus through the neighborhood before, Mindy said.

    “I didn’t register that [the mansion] was across the street from me,” she said of when she first moved in a few years ago. “It’s been pretty quiet until the Netflix show came out.”

    In September, Netflix released its dramatization of the case, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” as the latest chapter in its true crime anthology series. A two-hour documentary featuring new audio interviews with the siblings, “The Menendez Brothers,” was released by Netflix a month later. The scripted show and documentary introduced a new generation to a case that had their parents and grandparents glued to television screens during the first trial in 1993.

    The trial, one of the first of its kind to be televised, created an appetite for a new American genre: true crime. The nation was engrossed in the tale of these two charismatic yet troubled young men who seemed to have it all between wealth and looks before they violently snapped, taking their parents’ lives with shotguns.

    The renewed celebrity status of the house has since become a goldmine of viral content for TikTokers who film the mansion and rehash the gruesome details of the murder scene for online audiences or raise the idea of a haunting.

    “This psychic visited the Menendez home. Do you see what I see?” says the caption of one TikTok video that has been viewed more than 2.5 million times, as it zooms ever closer to an upstairs window to suggest a shadow of Jose Menendez’s face.

    Natalie Gardena, a surgical technician from Pomona, said she’s seen content creators hopping the fence on social media to take photos on the porch to re-create a picture of the brothers standing in front of the mansion.

    Erik and Lyle Menendez in front of their Beverly Hills home.

    Erik Menendez, left, and brother Lyle outside their Beverly Hills home.

    (Ronald Soble / Los Angeles Times)

    The 25-year-old visited the mansion on Wednesday on her day off from work and said she was initially drawn to the home by her morbid fascination with true crime documentaries — she had also visited Benedict Canyon in Beverly Hills where the Manson murders happened. But watching the scripted Netflix series also caused her to sympathize with the brothers’ experiences of alleged abuse under their father.

    “The system just failed them,” Gardena said. She thinks it was unfair that the trial focused on the brothers’ spending spree after the killings without fully acknowledging the sexual assault allegations. “If they were sisters, they would have been out long time ago. But since they’re men, no one believed men could be sexually abused back then.”

    Though the mansion is no longer owned by the Menendez family — it was sold for $17 million in March and is vacant as it undergoes renovation — that apparently hasn’t stopped its appeal at home or abroad.

    A tour bus filled with people

    A tour bus drives past the Menendez brothers’ former mansion in Beverly Hills.

    (Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)

    On a recent Wednesday afternoon, visitors were walking or driving by the home virtually every minute. Among them were tourists from France and South Africa who stopped by to take pictures of the mansion’s front-facing facade and the residence’s numbers on the driveway.

    “In Italy, the show is very popular,” said Fabrizio Serra, a 23-year-old who was visiting Los Angeles and decided to include the Menendez mansion on his itinerary. “It’s fascinating to visit this place … something that you always see on the screens … you have the opportunity in real life [to see it].”

    Nicholas Chavez, Cooper Koch and Javier Bardem

    Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menendez, left, Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez, middle, and Javier Bardem as Jose Menendez in “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”

    (Miles Crist / Netflix)

    For others, seeing the residence brings up a deep sense of personal loss and grief.

    Rebecca Hecht, who went to Beverly Hills High School a year ahead of Erik Menendez, lives about a mile away from the home and was walking by the house with a labradoodle on a recent afternoon.

    “I just feel a very heavy presence being here,” Hecht said. “It feels very ominous on the street.”

    Her brother Adam taught Erik tennis, she said. The same summer the murders happened, Adam also mysteriously disappeared — a case that’s never been solved.

    “In 1989, I believe I lost three brothers,” said a tearful Hecht, who still can’t believe that a schoolmate of hers has been in prison for decades. “I understand what they went through, because I grew up in this town, I had a very similar father to them. But the abuse was far worse that they went through.”

    With the renewed attention drawn to the case, she finally mustered the courage to watch the entirety of the Menendez trial on YouTube. And while she doesn’t condone murder, she believes they deserve a second chance because of the alleged abuse.

    Lyle and Erik Menendez in blue prison uniforms.

    Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez leave a courtroom in Santa Monica in 1990 after a judge ruled that conversations between the two brothers and their psychologist after their parents were slain were not privileged and could be used as evidence in their murder case.

    (Nick Ut / Associated Press)

    “They’re model citizens in prison, and strangely, ironically, prison was probably a better life for them, and that’s why they were able to thrive,” Hecht said.

    As for the Netflix show, Hecht said it’s too personal to watch it.

    But she hopes the media attention has swayed the public’s and officials’ opinions in favor of the brothers.

    “I think any publicity is good publicity. I do think there’s a firestorm of attention right now, and I believe it’s pushing in the direction of their release,” she said.

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    Jireh Deng

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  • ‘Sugarcane’ Leads Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations

    ‘Sugarcane’ Leads Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations

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    Sugarcane leads the nominations for the 2024 Critics Choice Documentary Awards, with eight nods, including for best documentary feature.

    Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story, Daughters and Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story received six nominations each, including for best documentary feature.

    The other best documentary feature nominees are The Greatest Night in Pop, Jim Henson Idea Man, Music by John Williams, Piece by Piece, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin and Will & Harper.

    In addition to best doc feature, Sugarcane, which investigates the abusive legacy of Catholic-run Native American missionary schools, is up for best director and best new documentary filmmakers (Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie), best cinematography (Christopher LaMarca and Emily Kassie), best editing (Nathan Punwar and Maya Daisy Hawk), best historical documentary, best political documentary and best true crime documentary.

    Billy & Molly‘s Charlie Hamilton James is up for best new documentary filmmaker and, with Johnny Rolt and Bertie Gregory, best cinematography. The film is also nominated for best score (Erland Cooper), best narration (written by Hamilton James and performed by Billy and Susan Mail) and best science/nature documentary.

    Daughters is up for best director and best new documentary feature (Natalie Rae and Angela Patton), best cinematography (Michael Cambio Fernandez), best editing (Troy Lewis and Adelina Bichis) and best score (Kelsey Lu).

    Super/Man is up for best director (Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui), best editing (Otto Burnham), best score (Ilan Eshkeri), best archival documentary and best biographical documentary.

    The 9th annual Critics Choice Awards are set to be presented at a ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 10 at New York’s Edison Ballroom, hosted by Erich Bergen, which will be livestreamed on YouTube, X and Facebook.

    A complete list of this year’s Critics Choice Documentary Awards nominations follows.

    BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
    Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story (National Geographic)
    Daughters (Netflix)
    The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix)
    Jim Henson Idea Man (Disney+)
    Music by John Williams (Walt Disney Studios)
    Piece by Piece (Focus Features)
    The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)
    Sugarcane (National Geographic)
    Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO
    Documentary Films, CNN Films)
    Will & Harper (Netflix)

    BEST DIRECTOR
    Ian Bonhôte & Peter Ettedgui – Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros.
    Pictures, DC Studios, HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
    Josh Greenbaum – Will & Harper (Netflix)
    Ron Howard – Jim Henson Idea Man (Disney+)
    Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie – Sugarcane (National Geographic)
    Natalie Rae & Angela Patton – Daughters (Netflix)
    Benjamin Ree – The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)

    BEST NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER(S)
    Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev – Porcelain War (Picturehouse)
    Carla Gutiérrez – Frida (Amazon MGM Studios)
    Charlie Hamilton James – Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story
    (National Geographic)
    Sue Kim – The Last of the Sea Women (Apple TV+)
    Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie – Sugarcane (National Geographic)
    Natalie Rae & Angela Patton – Daughters (Netflix)

    BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
    Michael Cambio Fernandez – Daughters (Netflix)
    Charlie Hamilton James, Johnny Rolt, Bertie Gregory – Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story
    (National Geographic)
    Christopher LaMarca, Emily Kassie – Sugarcane (National Geographic)
    Iris Ng, Eunsoo Cho, Justin Turkowski – The Last of the Sea Women (Apple TV+)
    Zoë White – Will & Harper (Netflix)
    Jessica Young – The Blue Angels (Amazon MGM Studios)

    BEST EDITING
    Otto Burnham – Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios,
    HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
    Rik Chaubet – Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (Kino Lorber)
    Paul Crowder – Jim Henson Idea Man (Disney+)
    Troy Lewis, Adelina Bichiș – Daughters (Netflix)
    Nathan Punwar, Maya Daisy Hawke – Sugarcane (National Geographic)
    Robert Stengård – The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)

    BEST SCORE
    Erland Cooper – Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story (National Geographic)
    Ilan Eshkeri – Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios,
    HBO Documentary Films, CNN Films)
    Nathan Halpern – Will & Harper (Netflix)
    Uno Helmersson – The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)
    Kelsey Lu – Daughters (Netflix)
    Marc Shaiman – Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (HBO | Max)

    BEST NARRATION
    Bad River (50 Eggs Films)
    Written by Mary Mazzio
    Performed by Quannah ChasingHorse & Edward Norton
    Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story (National Geographic)
    Written by Charlie Hamilton James
    Performed by Billy Mail & Susan Mail
    Dahomey (Mubi)
    Written by Makenzy Orcel
    Performed by Lucrece Houegbelo, Parfait Viayinon, Didier Sedoha Nassegande, and Sabine
    Badjogoumin
    Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (Cohen Media Group)
    Written and performed by Martin Scorsese
    Queens (National Geographic)
    Written by Chloë Sarosh
    Performed by Angela Bassett
    Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces (Apple TV+)
    Written and performed by Steve Martin

    BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
    Black Twitter: A People’s History (Hulu/Onyx Collective)
    The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix)
    Jim Henson Idea Man (Disney+)
    Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (Cohen Media Group)
    Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (Kino Lorber)
    Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO
    Documentary Films, CNN Films)

    BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY
    Bad River (50 Eggs Films)
    Dahomey (Mubi)
    The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix)
    Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (Cohen Media Group)
    Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (Kino Lorber)
    Sugarcane (National Geographic)

    BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
    Frida (Amazon MGM Studios)
    I Am: Celine Dion (Amazon MGM Studios)
    Jim Henson Idea Man (Disney+)
    The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Netflix)
    Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces (Apple TV+)
    Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO
    Documentary Films, CNN Films)

    BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
    The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix)
    I Am: Celine Dion (Amazon MGM Studios)
    Music by John Williams (Walt Disney Studios)
    Piece by Piece (Focus Features)
    Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (Hulu)
    Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (Kino Lorber)

    BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
    Bad River (50 Eggs Films)
    Girls State (Apple TV+)
    Porcelain War (Picturehouse)
    Stopping the Steal (HBO | Max)
    Sugarcane (National Geographic)
    The Truth vs. Alex Jones (HBO | Max)

    BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
    Apollo 13: Survival (Netflix)
    Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story (National Geographic)
    Blink (National Geographic)
    The Last of the Sea Women (Apple TV+)
    Secrets of the Octopus (National Geographic)
    The Space Race (National Geographic)

    BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
    Copa 71 (New Black Films)
    The Dynasty: New England Patriots (Apple TV+)
    Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa (Netflix)
    Mr. McMahon (Netflix)
    Simone Biles Rising (Netflix)
    The Turnaround (Netflix)

    BEST TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY
    American Nightmare (Netflix)
    Black Box Diaries (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount+)
    Incident (The New Yorker)
    The Jinx – Part Two (HBO | Max)
    Stopping the Steal (HBO | Max)
    Sugarcane (National Geographic)

    BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
    I Am Ready, Warden (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount+)
    Incident (The New Yorker)
    Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World (Netflix)
    Once Upon a Time in Ukraine (Earle Mack Productions, Storyville Films, Goldcrest Films)
    The Only Girl in the Orchestra (Netflix)
    The Turnaround (Netflix)

    BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
    America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)
    Black Twitter: A People’s History (Hulu/Onyx Collective)
    Mr. McMahon (Netflix)
    Ren Faire (HBO | Max)
    Secrets of the Octopus (National Geographic)
    Simone Biles Rising (Netflix)

    BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
    30 for 30 (ESPN)
    America’s Most Wanted (Fox Broadcasting Company)
    The Food That Built America (History)
    Independent Lens (PBS)
    The Jinx – Part Two (HBO | Max)
    POV (PBS)

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    Hilary Lewis

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  • Wild At Heart Documentary Series Premieres October 11 on YouTube

    Wild At Heart Documentary Series Premieres October 11 on YouTube

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    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., October 7, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    After three years in the making, Wild At Heart is excited to announce the official premiere of its highly anticipated faith-based documentary series, “Wild At Heart: The Series”, releasing on YouTube at 7 PM MT on Friday, October 11. The series consists of four episodes, with new episodes debuting on consecutive Fridays at the same time weekly. Each episode highlights a beautifully filmed and powerful story of redemption, focusing on men whose lives have been profoundly transformed by the message of John Eldredge’s 2001 bestselling book, Wild at Heart.

    “We are living in a moment that may be the breaking point for culture. A crisis of masculinity like the world has never seen on this scale,” said John Eldredge, executive producer of “Wild At Heart: The Series”. “We’ve all heard plenty of stories of seemingly good men doing harm. What we need are stories of broken men becoming really good men.”

    “Wild At Heart: The Series” takes viewers on a journey through stories of healing and renewal, told through stunning cinematography and deeply personal narratives. Each episode highlights the universal struggle for restoration and hope, making it a relatable and moving experience for all who watch.

    The series offers more than just an emotional experience—it is an invitation to join the journey of healing. Viewers are encouraged to share the documentary with friends and family, making it a powerful tool for community connection and personal reflection.

    Watch the Live Premiere
    The series will premiere on YouTube at 7 PM MT on Friday, October 11, and Wild At Heart invites viewers to join the live premiere. To enhance the experience, the team encourages audiences to host watch parties or simply share the video with their personal networks.

    “We believe this documentary will inspire not only individuals but entire communities,” Eldredge added. “We can’t wait for you to watch and share it with the people in your life.”

    About Wild At Heart
    Wild At Heart is an organization that has touched the lives of millions, offering a message of hope, healing, and freedom to men around the world. Founded by John Eldredge and based on his bestselling book Wild At Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul, the organization continues to impact men’s lives through retreats, resources, and now this powerful documentary series.

    Source: Wild At Heart

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  • New Netflix Show Explores How Puppies Who Ask Humans for Help Make Better Service Dogs | Animal Wellness Magazine

    New Netflix Show Explores How Puppies Who Ask Humans for Help Make Better Service Dogs | Animal Wellness Magazine

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    Using a game called The Impossible Task, which is featured on a new Netflix show called Inside the Mind of a Dog, canine cognition researchers demonstrate that some dogs instinctively know how to ask humans for help. And with the right training, those dogs are more likely to become service dogs. What’s more, pet parents can also use the game with puppies to strengthen their connection. 

    Training service dogs requires considerable time and resources. Work being done at Duke Puppy Kindergarten—which you can see on Netflix’s Inside the Mind of a Dog—is making it easier to identify puppies with better chances of becoming service dogs. The trick is to look for puppies who ask humans for help with tasks they can’t complete alone. Further, the research has also identified a game pet parents can play with puppies to strengthen bonds with their dogs.

    Identifying Good Service Dog Candidates with a Simple Game

    In the Netflix documentary Inside the Mind of a Dog, viewers delve into the cognitive world of dogs. One stop on the trip is Duke Puppy Kindergarten, where part of the goal is to identify service dog candidates. Service puppies in training from Canine Companions play cognitive games like The Impossible Task, where they try to retrieve a treat from a locked container. Some puppies paw at the container and bite the handles, determined to solve the puzzle through sheer willpower. However, others give up and walk away. But a few puppies do something else—they ask for help. And the dogs who ask for help by making eye contact with humans are more likely to graduate and become service dogs.

    Dr. Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods pose with potential service dogs candidates.

    Playing The Impossible Task Can Help Improve the Bond with Your Dog

    Beyond helping to identify good candidates for service dogs, cognitive games can help pet parents strengthen bonds with their own dogs. And all it takes is playing the game for five minutes every two weeks between eight and 20 weeks of age. Puppies who play at this frequency make double the amount of eye contact as puppies who don’t play.

    Eye contact is extremely important for the canine-human relationship. It leads to the release of oxytocin, the hormone that makes you feel loving and loved. Pet parents with dogs who make more eye contact report being more satisfied in their relationship with their dogs. What’s more, dogs who make more eye contact tend to get adopted out of shelters faster.

    Conclusion

    The Impossible Task demonstrates that each puppy sees the world and solves problems differently. It can even help to identify dogs that are good service dog training candidates. And for pet parents, playing cognitive games like these can improve relationships with dogs. What’s more, cognitive games can even help shelter dogs find forever homes.


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    Vanessa Woods is a research scientist at Duke University and author of Puppy Kindergarten: The New Science of Raising a Great Dog.

    Brian Hare is a professor in Evolutionary Anthropology and Cognitive Neuroscience and author of Puppy Kindergarten: The New Science of Raising a Great Dog.

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    Vanessa Woods, author of Puppy Kindergarten: The New Science of Raising a Great Dog and Dr. Brian Hare, author of Puppy Kindergarten: The New Science of Raising a Great Dog

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  • Best Bets: Twyla Tharp Dance, The Music of Motown and Runaway Radio

    Best Bets: Twyla Tharp Dance, The Music of Motown and Runaway Radio

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    Breakfast is the most important meal of
    the day, and today is Better
    Breakfast Day    , so we encourage you to get a better start on a day that will
    hopefully end with you checking out one of our best bets. Keep reading because
    this week, we’ve got season-opening programs, a documentary about a local radio
    station-turned-legend, and more.

    DACAMERA
    will open its 2024-25 season tonight, Thursday, September 26, at 7:30 p.m. with
    Takács
    Quartet and Jeremy Denk     in concert at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.
    Takács Quartet will be making
    their first appearance with DACAMERA, playing Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in
    C Major, Op. 54, No. 2, and Leoš Janáček’s String Quartet No. 1, dubbed the “Kreutzer
    Sonata” after the Leo Tolstoy novella that inspired it, while pianist and MacArthur
    “Genius” fellow Denk tackles Antonín
    Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81, which has been called “easily
    one of the finest examples of late Romantic chamber music.    ” Tickets for the
    performance are still available and can be purchased here for $46 to $76.

    click to enlarge

    Mei-Ann Chen and ROCO return to Miller Outdoor Theatre to perform ROCO’s 20th season-opening program.

    Photo by Violeta Alvarez

    ROCO’s full
    40-piece chamber orchestra, with three world premieres and a newly animated,
    rescored classic, will head over to Miller Outdoor Theatre on Friday,
    September 27, at 7:30 p.m. to present a spacey, season-opening program titled Remarkable.
    The program leads off the chamber orchestra’s 20th season, which you can learn
    more about here.
    Tickets
    to Friday night’s performance can be reserved here starting today,
    September 26, at 10 a.m., or you can plan to sit on the Hill without a
    ticket. As always, shows at Miller are free, and if you can’t make it, you can
    livestream this one on the Miller Outdoor Theatre website, YouTube channel, or
    Facebook page.

    Remarkable
    will be performed a second time at The Church
    of St. John the Divine     the following night, Saturday, September 28, at 5 p.m.
    Tickets to this performance are pay-what-you-wish (with a suggested price of
    $35) and are available here. This
    performance will also be livestreamed for free on ROCO’s website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel.

    A modern-day witch living in the big
    city, played by Kim Novak, falls for a mere mortal, played by James Stewart, in
    Richard Quine’s Bell,
    Book and Candle     – the premise of which served as an inspiration behind
    the classic American sitcom Bewitched (according
    to series’ creator Sol Saks    ). On Friday, September 27, at 7:30 p.m., in
    honor of the 100th anniversary of Surrealism, The
    Menil Collection     will host an outdoor screening of the 1958 rom-com. Why
    this picture? Because the film, based on a play by John Van Druten, is set in Julius
    Carlebach’s Carlebach Gallery, a favorite of the Surrealists and the place
    where Novak’s witchy Gillian Holroyd works. Moon Rooster Tacos
    and Kona Shaved Ice trucks will be
    on-site during the free, open-to-all screening.

    Celebrate the 60th anniversary of a
    pioneering dancemaker’s company on Saturday, September 28, at 7:30 p.m. when Performing Arts Houston presents Twyla
    Tharp Dance     at the Wortham
    Theater Center    . The program, part of the Tudor Family Dance Series, will
    feature three Tharp-choreographed works, including two new works – “a
    male solo of breadth and power    ” called Brel,
    its title a nod to its music by Belgian vocalist Jacques Brel, and The Ballet Master, a contemporary meets
    Baroque piece with appearances by characters from Don Quixote and music by Simeon
    ten Holt     and Antonio Vivaldi – and a revival of Ocean’s Motion, a 1975 piece for five dancers set to music by Chuck
    Berry that Tharp herself described as “cool.”
    Tickets can be purchased here
    for $29 to $99.

    Berry
    Gordy Jr. founded Motown Records (then Tamla Records) in 1959    , and the
    label produced music that is beloved to this day. Houston Symphony will bring Motown
    classics from acts like The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, and The Jackson 5 to Jones
    Hall on Saturday, September 28, at 7:30 p.m. during Ain’t
    No Mountain High Enough: The Music of Motown    . Conductor Steven Reineke will
    lead the Symphony, which will be joined by vocalists Capathia Jenkins, Ryan Shaw, Chelsea
    Cymone, Michael Dixon, and Raven Johnson. The concert will be presented a
    second time on Sunday, September 29, at 2 p.m., a performance which will also
    be livestreamed. Tickets to either in-hall performance can be purchased here
    for $52 to $130, or you can buy access to the livestream here for $20.

    Ethel Smyth’s 1910 composition, “The
    March of the Women,” became “the
    true anthem of the suffrage movement    ,” with Smyth saying of it, “If
    I have contrived to get into my music anything of the spirit which makes this
    movement the finest thing I have ever known in my life, then perhaps the March
    may in some way be worthy of your acceptance.    ” On Saturday, September 28,
    at 8 p.m., the Houston Pride Band will
    open their season with a program of music that seeks to celebrate those
    movements and activists, like Smyth and the suffrage movement, that have fought
    for equality and justice during Power to the People
    at the MATCH. Tickets to the program are
    available here
    for $5 (for children 12 and under) to $15.

    One way to run afoul of the corrupt San
    Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office under Humpy Parker – so corrupt it inspired a
    book and TV movie, 1989’s Terror on
    Highway 59     – was to display a KLOL sticker on your car. On Wednesday,
    October 2, at 7:30 p.m., you can learn what made Houston’s progressive radio
    station so popular, beloved, and dangerous during a screening of Runaway
    Radio: The Rise and Fall of KLOL FM     at Alta Arts. Mike McGuff, the filmmaker/local
    blogger behind the documentary, has described KLOL as a “beacon,”
    a pre-internet place for “wild
    programming and escapism    ” known for its personalities and stunts. Tickets to
    the screening, followed by a Q&A, are available here
    for $25. (If you can’t make it, you can always stream it.)

    Backstage shenanigans take center stage
    on Wednesday, October 2, at 7:30 p.m. when the Alley Theatre opens Michael Frayn’s 1982
    three-act farce Noises Off. Elizabeth Bunch, who plays Dotty
    Otley in the show, which makes three stops in the life of the play-within-the-play,
    recently told the Houston Press that “every
    production is its own kind of journey    ,” saying that “it
    doesn’t matter how many times you see this play, every production is going to
    be different and frankly every night could be different because of the
    electricity in the air.    ” Performances are scheduled to continue at 7:30
    p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and
    2 and 7 p.m. Sundays through October 27. Tickets are available here for $29 to $105.

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    Natalie de la Garza

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  • Special screening of new Hulu documentary ‘Perfect Wife’ held in New York City

    Special screening of new Hulu documentary ‘Perfect Wife’ held in New York City

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    NEW YORK — A special screening was held Monday for a new documentary looking at a true crime case that captured the attention of people across the country.

    Keith Papini was on hand Monday night for the new Hulu series ‘Perfect Wife,’ which looks at the disappearance of his wife.

    She was found on the side of a highway three weeks after disappearing.

    In the end, she staged her own disappearance.

    ‘Perfect Wife’ will be available on Hulu later this week.

    Hulu is owned by the same parent company as ABC OTV stations.

    Copyright © 2024 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.

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    WABC

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  • Gasland Part II Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via HBO Max

    Gasland Part II Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via HBO Max

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    Gasland Part II is a documentary film directed by Josh Fox, exploring the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for natural gas. It serves as a sequel to the original Gasland, delving deeper into the controversies surrounding fracking, its effects on communities, and the political and corporate interests involved.

    Here’s how you can watch and stream Gasland Part II via streaming services such as HBO Max.

    Is Gasland Part II available to watch via streaming?

    Yes, Gasland Part II is available to watch via streaming on HBO Max.

    Gasland Part II continues the exploration of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and its environmental and social impacts. The documentary highlights increased seismic activity, controversial federal tactics, and ongoing community struggles. Furthermore, it provides compelling evidence of the persistent issues and controversies surrounding fracking.

    The documentary features archival footage of figures like Al Armendariz, Bill Clinton, and Hillary Clinton. It also includes interviews with activists like Kindra Arnesen and political figures such as Lon Burnam and Ben Cardin.

    Watch Gasland Part II streaming via HBO Max

    Gasland Part II is available to watch on HBO Max. Subscribers of the streaming service can access a variety of genres and content aimed at diverse audiences, available for streaming anytime, anywhere.

    You can watch via Max, formerly known as HBO Max by following these steps:

    1. Go to HBOMax.com/subscribe
    2. Click ‘Sign Up Now’
    3. Choose your plan:
      • $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (with ads)
      • $15.99 per month or $149.99 per year (ad-free)
      • $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year (ultimate ad-free)
    4. Enter your personal information and password
    5. Select ‘Create Account’

    Max With Ads provides the service’s streaming library at a Full HD resolution, allowing users to stream on up to two supported devices at once. Max Ad-Free removes the service’s commercials and allows streaming on two devices at once in Full HD. It also allows for 30 downloads at a time to allow users to watch content offline. On the other hand, Max Ultimate Ad-Free allows users to stream on four devices at once in a 4K Ultra HD resolution and provides Dolby Atmos audio and 100 downloads.

    The Gasland Part II synopsis is as follows:

    “Two years ago, Josh Fox introduced us to hydraulic fracturing with his Oscar®-nominated exposé Gasland. Now this once-touted energy source has become a widely discussed, contentious topic. In his follow-up, Fox reveals the extreme circumstances facing those affected by fracking, from earthquakes to the use of federal anti-terror psychological operations tactics. Gasland Part II is the definitive proof that issues raised by fracking cannot be ignored for long.”

    NOTE: The streaming services listed above are subject to change. The information provided was correct at the time of writing.

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    Anubhav Chaudhry

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  • Winning The Breakup? David & Victoria Beckham Score Revenge Amid Rift With Prince Harry & Meghan Markle! – Perez Hilton

    Winning The Breakup? David & Victoria Beckham Score Revenge Amid Rift With Prince Harry & Meghan Markle! – Perez Hilton

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    David and Victoria Beckham are determined to come out on top amid their bitter feud with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry!

    As Perezcious readers will recall, the Beckhams and Sussexes were good friends until the last few years. Their reported issues began when Harry allegedly called David to accuse him and Victoria of leaking stories to the press, leaving the former soccer player “furious.” And they haven’t been on good terms ever since!

    Interestingly, while David’s grown apart from Harry, he’s grown closer to two royal family members that the Duke of Sussex is feuding with: Prince William and King Charles. So shady! The athlete even invited William and Princess Catherine to Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz’s wedding in 2022 — not Harry and Meghan. Ouch! Meanwhile, King Charles made Posh Spice’s hubby an ambassador of The King’s Foundation this week. A source previously told The Sun:

    “The King and David Beckham have really bonded over their similar interests. This is a massive thing for him and he’s delighted. He is really passionate about his new role.”

    Related: Prince Harry Uninvited From Lifelong Friend’s Wedding In ‘Awkward Phone Call’

    Now, it appears the Beckhams have scored again in their rift with Meghan and Harry! According to The US Sun, figures showed last week that Victoria and David’s documentary surpassed Harry and Meghan’s show in terms of popularity at this time. The Beckhams’ doc — which was released last October — earned 208.5 million hours watched in 2023. Wow! As for Harry & Meghan? The series didn’t even come close to that figure! It only had 72.9 million hours watched last year. Not good!

    That being said, Meghan and Harry’s documentary was released in December 2022 and was a big hit at the time, debuting at 81.6 million hours viewed in the first four days. Over time, views are obviously going to decline. Nevertheless, these numbers could make the Beckhams happy! You know, the whole success is the best revenge thing! Speaking of success…

    Victoria might even hope Meghan won’t have any when it comes to her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard — at least according to the musings of Denise Palmer-Davies, Brand expert and Director at Borne Media! She feels the business flopping would be the “ultimate revenge” amid their nasty rift:

    “It is a difficult market to crack – even Victoria has had her obstacles – as it is so saturated. But given their fall out, the skeptic in me wonders if she’d be secretly pleased if it did backfire. That would be the ultimate revenge wouldn’t it?”

    Damn! That is pretty harsh…

    But Victoria could get her wish — if this is true — especially if the palace has anything to say about it! Given how the jam fiasco went down, we wouldn’t be surprised if the palace tried to low-key thwart her operation at every turn! Posh could get her “ultimate revenge” sooner rather than later if that happens! Thoughts on the feud, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below!

    [Image via Netflix/YouTube]

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    Perez Hilton

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  • Make Us Dream Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via Amazon Prime Video

    Make Us Dream Streaming: Watch & Stream Online via Amazon Prime Video

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    Wondering where to watch Make Us Dream online? We have all the streaming details right here. Make Us Dream is an American docu-drama flick. The plot focuses on giving football lovers an intrinsic glance at the fascinating career and life of the eponymous football legend from Liverpool. The film, helmed by Sam Blair, received rave reviews from both critics and audiences.

    Here’s how you can watch and stream Make Us Dream via streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video.

    Is Make Us Dream available to watch via streaming?

    Yes, Make Us Dream is available to watch via streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

    The film explores the colorful football tapestry and career of the globally celebrated football legend Steven Gerrard. It chronicles his most euphoric moments as a football player and also his most challenging personal life traumas, which took a toll on his mental health, thereby destroying his life.

    The movie stars Kay Francis and Paul Kelly.

    Watch Make Us Dream streaming via Amazon Prime Video

    Make Us Dream is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video. Amazon Prime Video provides a wide range of exciting content in multiple languages for you to watch and enjoy worldwide, depending on your subscription plan choices.

    You can watch via Amazon Prime Video by following these steps:

    1. Go to Amazon Prime Video
    2. Select ‘Sign in’ and ‘Create your Amazon account’
    3. Sign up for a Prime Video membership:
      • $14.99 per month or $139 per year with an Amazon Prime membership
      • $8.99 per month for a standalone Prime Video membership

    Amazon Prime is the online retailer’s paid service that provides fast shipping and exclusive sales on products, so the membership that includes both this service and Prime Video is the company’s most popular offering. However, you can also opt to subscribe to Prime Video separately.

    The official synopsis is as follows:

    “Steven Gerrard became perhaps the greatest player in the history of Liverpool FC, but did so when success and trophies were declining. It became his personal mission to lift the famous club back to the top. That loyalty raised him to God-like status with Liverpool fans, but was an unbearable burden, bringing with it a profound sense of responsibility to live up to their and his own expectations.”

    NOTE: The streaming services listed above are subject to change. The information provided was correct at the time of writing.

    The cast of the upcoming Goosebumps Season 2 continues to grow, with Disney announcing a handful of actors have joined the cast…

    Thirty years later, Michael Keaton is going back to his poltergeist roots in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. We should enter this sequel…

    Saved! went under the radar for many people, with several who saw it saying they were surprised at how engaging…

    Riders of Justice, a 2020 Danish movie starring Mads Mikkelsen, is being remade. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Michael Schwartz and…

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    Vrinda Mundara

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  • Emotional last day of class at St. Rose

    Emotional last day of class at St. Rose

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    ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Foot traffic through the College of Saint Rose was slow on Wednesday, the school’s final day of class. Students who were on campus said it’s been hard coming to terms with the reality that the school is closing for good. 

    “It’s been very bittersweet,” said Hannah Dote, a junior music industry major. “Like I know I haven’t said that many goodbyes and I am realizing ‘oh my god there’s only a couple days left’ and there’s a lot of people I may not ever see again and that’s heartbreaking.” 

    It’s not just hard for students, like Dote, it’s emotional for professors as well, like Jaime Iglehart.

    “I’m trying not to cry,” said Iglehart. “These students are very special to me, we’ve become very close knit throughout this process.”

    Cain Mack is a music industry major and he met Dote and other friends at St. Rose. He described what the news of the closure felt like.

    “Kind of like going through a breakup where you are going through different stages of grief,” said Mack. 

    He even started a band called Superbird. Mack said his experience at St. Rose has been invaluable.

    “I’ve met some incredible people here, you know, we’ve done a lot of gigs around Albany and the Troy area,” said Mack. 

    Students and professors took in their final moments on campus.    

    “To soak up the friendships. To soak up the time they have with their teachers, with the campus. To have one last moment in the special place that they enjoy,” said Iglehart.  

    She is a visiting assistant professor in the communications department. Iglehart is making a film to document the closure. She said students and faculty have pushed themselves more than ever this year.

    “They’ve been excelling in every capacity. I have students taking an insane amount of credits and on top of it winning awards,” said Iglehart. 

    The college said its focus this semester has been on assisting as many students as possible to graduate. 

    Roughly 200 more students will be able to meet their degree requirements this year – and will walk in the commencement ceremony on Saturday – after the college offered summer session one, according to a spokesperson.

    “Everyone who’s here are really doing their best to shine and to show what a special place St. Rose is,” said Iglehart.

    She is spending her own time and money on the documentary, “Goodbye Dear Neighbor” to celebrate the hard work students are putting in. She has a GoFundMe setup to raise funds for the film.

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    Carina Dominguez

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  • The Contestant might be the year’s scariest documentary

    The Contestant might be the year’s scariest documentary

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    Twenty years ago, Park Chan-wook’s revenge thriller Oldboy turned him into a worldwide star, setting off a new wave of Korean neo-noirs and helping break down barriers for international cinema. The movie’s memorable, irresistible hook: After a drunken bender, Korean businessman Oh Dae-su wakes up in a small, dilapidated hotel room, where he’s been imprisoned by unknown parties. As months pass with no contact from the outside apart from anonymous food deliveries, he begins to unravel, numbed by isolation and helplessness.

    Watching Hulu’s mesmerizing documentary The Contestant, it’s hard to believe Park and Oldboy manga writer Garon Tsuchiya didn’t take some inspiration from its subject, Nasubi. Starting in 1998, Nasubi spent more than a year naked, starving, and cut off from the world in a similarly small suite as part of a Japanese game show, utterly unaware that he was eventually being watched by 17 million gawking fans. His real-world story was considerably less gory than Oldboy, but it’s even more startling, given its big, surprising twists — and given how complicit Nasubi was in his own captivity and worldwide exploitation.

    Clair Titley’s documentary starts with a brief overview of the game show, Susunu! Denpa Shōnen, and the environment that enabled it. In an era where reality TV was just starting to take off, Susunu! Denpa Shōnen specialized in luring participants into performing elaborate, dangerous stunts in the hopes of furthering their entertainment careers. A quick montage of footage from the show blitzes across a few of the show’s other most notorious moments, including an intercontinental hitchhiking trip that hospitalized one participant, and a stunt where two comedians were given a swan-shaped pedal boat and told to pedal from India to Indonesia.

    But by far, the show’s most notorious project was “A Life in Prizes,” a segment where a would-be comedian was placed in a room, naked, with nothing but a rack of magazines and a pile of postcards, and ordered to live entirely off whatever he could win by entering magazine sweepstakes.

    Producer Toshio Tsuchiya told Denpa Shōnen contestant Nasubi (born Hamatsu Tomoaki — the unusual shape of his face inspired his stage name, “Eggplant”) that he’d live in a room with one tripod-mounted camera, which he’d use to videotape short daily check-ins as he entered sweepstakes and slowly amassed 1 million yen worth of prizes. After the project finished, Toshio explained, the show would edit Nasubi’s footage and release it.

    Instead, Toshio kept secret cameras in Nasubi’s room running 24 hours a day. Initially, the show’s producers edited the footage down into short segments for the show. Once millions of fans became obsessed with Nasubi, though, detractors denounced him as an actor faking the entire stunt. So Toshio began to livestream the cameras from Nasubi’s room, employing an around-the-clock staff to monitor the feed and hand-operate the mobile video effect that obscured Nasubi’s genitals with a CG eggplant.

    The footage Titley assembles from Denpa Shōnen feels remarkably like a manically narrated version of Bo Burnham: Inside, with Nasubi’s naked dancing replacing the musical interludes. Hoping for a TV comedy career once the show actually aired, Nasubi played to his camera during the window where he knew it was on. He performs celebratory rituals whenever he wins a prize, pulls silly faces and tries out silly voices, and generally clowns for an imaginary audience. The goofy antics and the ridiculous extremes of the whole experiment edge toward making The Contestant feel comic and weightless, a light entertainment like so many other reality-TV gimmick shows.

    Image: Hulu/Everett Collection

    The hidden cameras tell another story. As months stretch by, Nasubi tries to survive with no source of nutrition but sparse, random prizes like fruit drinks and dog food. He grows increasingly gaunt and bony. He suffers bouts of lassitude, depression, confusion, and what seems like mania. And Toshio just keeps rolling.

    Twenty-five years after the incredibly discomfiting end of the “Life in Prizes” experiment, Titley brought Nasubi and Toshio in for studio interviews to discuss their memories of this international exercise in voyeurism. Nasubi is calm and philosophical about his ordeal, explaining why he didn’t just walk away from the experiment when he began deteriorating, and taking a clear-eyed look at what it did to him mentally. Toshio, meanwhile, remains politely apologetic about how sadistically he pushed Nasubi to continue on the show, but offers few explanations or insights into his behind the scenes decisions. The movie is likely to leave viewers with more questions about the story than they went in with.

    Part of that comes from Titley’s refusal to editorialize, or to shape the story in a way that suggests a larger context. It’s easy to take it as a frightening story about what people are willing to endure (or make other people endure) in exchange for fame or profit. And given how famous Nasubi became both inside and outside of Japan, it’s similarly easy to take “A Life in Prizes” as a milestone event in the growth of reality TV, and the fascination with watching people harm themselves on camera to entertain others. (Jackass started airing the year after “A Life in Prizes” ended. So did Survivor. Fear Factor came the year after that.)

    But it’s just as easy to see as “A Life in Prizes” as a companion piece to the Stanford Prison Experiment, an example of how easily power can lure ordinary people into cruelty and abuse, and how easy it is to become obedient and accepting in the hands of power, and to accept even a ruinous status quo. As Nasubi points out in an interview with Titley, the door to his tiny apartment wasn’t locked, and he could have left at any time. Past a certain point, he says, he didn’t have the will to resist.

    The Contestant subject Nasubi in a modern-day interview, sitting on a tatami-floored room in front of open shoji, with his hair neatly cut short

    Image: Hulu/Everett Collection

    The Contestant doesn’t draw out any of these larger ideas, and Titley’s handling of her subjects seems gentle and cautious rather than probing. There are a lot of unsettling revelations in The Contestant, including that Toshio encouraged Nasubi to keep a journal about his day-to-day life — which was then taken away and published, without Nasubi’s knowledge. (It became a four-volume national bestseller.) But the film doesn’t explore how that happened, or question the ethics behind it: It just notes the publication of Nasubi’s diary as a data point in establishing the scope of his fame in Japan.

    It might be considered admirable how firmly Titley sticks to the facts, rather than trying to draw out a moral from the entire situation. But it leaves the story feeling more like a quirky, isolated human-interest story than a watershed moment in the development of exploitative, stunt-driven reality television. It plays like a feature-length version of the “Here’s a wacky story from Japan…” news items that Titley excerpts at the beginning of the film, more a curiosity than a bigger discussion-starter. And when Nasubi enters his post-Denpa Shōnen life and embarks on a radical personal project, the film morphs into something more like a slick, inspirational feel-good story. It’s certainly a relief to see Nasubi healthy and happy after the early going, but there’s a constant sense of a film skating across the surface of a remarkable story, rather than exploring its depths.

    None of which makes The Contestant any less of a compelling watch. We seem to have moved past the peak of grim cautionary documentaries focused on the seemingly endless environmental, technological, and societal apocalypses looming in the near future, maybe because they’d piled up in such numbing profusion that audiences were turning away. In spite of the guilty voyeuristic lure of a naked guy who doesn’t know he’s being filmed, the “Wow, this guy’s so wacky!” framing of Toshio’s game show, and the big, bright uplift of the ending, this movie is as frightening as any of the doomsaying docs of the last few decades.

    The Contestant is streaming on Hulu now.

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    Tasha Robinson

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  • Matthew Stafford documentary looks at Rams quarterback’s life on and off the field

    Matthew Stafford documentary looks at Rams quarterback’s life on and off the field

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    LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The Los Angeles Rams won a Super Bowl with Matthew Stafford at quarterback, and they hope to get there again this season.

    As Stafford heads into his fourth season with the team, a new documentary showcases Stafford’s life on and off the field.

    “Football is not for everybody. I love the challenge. It’s not easy. It’s hard,” Stafford said in a clip from the documentary.

    The Rams are giving fans an inside look into the star quarterback’s life in a new documentary, “Mathew Stafford: Locked In.” The film explores the pressure of the playoffs last season and facing off against his former team.

    Stafford typically stays out of the spotlight, but this new documentary pulls the curtain back to let fans see his life both on and off the field as a player, husband and father.

    The film’s director, Justin Polks, says there’s an overall theme of the noise vs. quiet in this documentary. As a quarterback, Stafford is dealing with coaches in his ear, football players, plays being called but before that snap on the field, he learns to tune it out and lock in.

    “It started off with ‘let’s just show the two games in five days.’ There’s a game on a Sunday and a game on a Thursday. How do football players deal with that? How does Matthew Stafford himself deal with that?” Polks said. “And then from there it kind of took on a life of its own.

    The Rams ultimately lost to the Detroit Lions in the playoffs, but it came down to the wire and the Rams gave it their all. The film shows you the moments during the game, after the loss and how Stafford’s leadership played a role.

    You can watch the documentary on the Rams’ website.

    Copyright © 2024 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.

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    Jaysha Patel

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  • D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year Discusses Relative Using Medical Cannabis for Cancer | High Times

    D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year Discusses Relative Using Medical Cannabis for Cancer | High Times

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    The Drug Abuse Resistance Education, aka D.A.R.E., has been teaching kids about substance abuse since 1983 with a mission of delivering science and evidence-based curricula. Recently, a D.A.R.E. documentary published by Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan on April 12 spoke with numerous individuals regarding the D.A.R.E. program and discussed the failure of the War on Drugs. Callaghan attended D.A.R.E.’s annual conference, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada last July. An estimated 500 attendees were present for D.A.R.E. officer training.

    Part of the conference included presenting awards for 2023 D.A.R.E. Student of the Year and 2023 D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year Mark Gilmore, from Kosciusko, Mississippi. Gilmore commented on his ability as a D.A.R.E. officer to apprehend any students who possess any amount of drugs, which includes even the smallest amount of weed.

    D.A.R.E.’s 2022 Officer of the Year, Alex Mendoza of the Irvine Police Department spoke with Callaghan about shifting D.A.R.E.’s approach to drug prevention deterring kids from using drugs. “For me, it’s really about educating the youth that are out there,” Mendoza said. “To give them the tools necessary to navigate whatever pain that they’re going through. I think that if you don’t have that self-love for yourself and that resiliency, then you’re gonna go to that external source, whatever that might be.”

    Callaghan asked, “Do you feel the same way about alcohol?” to which Mendoza replied, “Absolutely. I mean, alcohol is a gateway drug.” Callaghan then asked Mendoza if he drinks alcohol, and Mendoza confirmed that he does so rarely, or “maybe once or twice within a month period of time.” He gave an example, stating that he recently had an alcoholic drink at his daughter’s wedding during a toast.

    Callaghan addressed this issue in the documentary, citing the validity of calling alcohol a gateway drug. He asked Mendoza if he felt cannabis could be treated in the same way as alcohol. “You know, there’s so many things about marijuana that go far beyond, I guess, really our understanding, right?” said Mendoza. “From a lot of the statistics that are out there, obviously, they say that it can be more dangerous than tobacco products.”

    However, he did note that there are many instances where cannabis is being used to help patients to deal with the symptoms of their condition. “I think the problem that you run into is that you have the people that truly legitimately have a need and a purpose behind it and will use it to help them navigate their pain,” said Mendoza. “My brother-in-law recently passed away of cancer, and he didn’t want to go with any type of prescription medication. He wanted something natural and he resulted to using THC to deal with his pain. And it helped him. He passed away, but it helped him navigate that, right? And then you have, unfortunately, people that will use that as an excuse to try to use that product for recreational purposes.”

    D.A.R.E. President and CEO Francisco Pegueros, who formerly worked for the Los Angeles Police department, concluded the conference with a speech. In a one-on-one interview, Callaghan mentioned that people being critical of the War on Drugs, Pegueros said “Well, there was some evidence that certain governmental agencies were involved in a lot of activity that were kind of contrary to the whole concept of the war on drugs,” Pegueros said. Callaghan called the “CIA giving crack to Freeway Ricky Ross,” or how the federal government was supplying Ross with cocaine for illegal sales. “It’s an unfortunate part of our history. But evidently, it’s reality,” Pegueros said.

    The documentary also interviewed one individual named Hailey, who was the only protester outside of last year’s D.A.R.E. conference last year. “We don’t try to outlaw sex. We don’t try to outlaw driving. We don’t try to outlaw guns,” Hailey stated. “We don’t try to outlaw all these things that come with risk but can be easily have these safety measures put in place, much like we do with pharmaceuticals.”

    Callaghan briefly spoke with Bill Russel, also known as RETRO BILL, who has spoken to kids across the country for more than 25 years in partnership with D.A.R.E. to warn kids about how drugs, including cannabis, are harmful and dangerous.

    The documentary stated that the D.A.R.E. program cost American taxpayers up to $750 million per year in the 1990s, up until a 1998 University of Michigan study showed that drug use continued to rise between 1992-1995, despite the nationwide prevalence of D.A.R.E.

    It also reviewed the rise of the War on Drugs through actions from former presidents Richard Nixon and later, Ronald Reagan. Former President Bill Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act in 1994, and D.A.R.E. lost its federal funding in 1998.

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    Nicole Potter

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  • Best Bets: Rebirth, Houston’s Got Bollywood and The Taming of the Shrew

    Best Bets: Rebirth, Houston’s Got Bollywood and The Taming of the Shrew

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    Interestingly, today is National Barbershop Quartet Day. We don’t have any barbershop quartets on this week’s list of best bets, but we do have plenty of musical performances, from a Tony Award-winning musical about an American icon to Bollywood in the Bayou City, as well as films, dance, and theater shows. Keep reading for these and more events on our list of best bets.

    For decades, Rob Reiner’s 1987 film The Princess Bride, “a high-spirited adventure that pits true love against inconceivable odds,” has been charming “legions of fans with its irreverent gags, eccentric ensemble, and dazzling swordplay.” On Thursday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. Performing Arts Houston will welcome the actor who played heroic farm boy Westley, Cary Elwes, to Jones Hall for The Princess Bride: An Inconceivable Evening with Cary Elwes. Following a screening of the film, Elwes, who authored As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales From the Making of The Princess Bride, will join Houston Public Media‘s Ernie Manouse to give audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film during a moderated discussion. A second screening is scheduled for Friday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m. and tickets to either are available here for $39 to $99.

    The 1950s-style American sitcom meets William Shakespeare in Classical Theatre Company’s upcoming production of The Bard’s The Taming of the Shrew, which opens at The DeLuxe Theater on Friday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m. Director Dana Bowman has noted that the classic is “definitely a sexist play,” and their approach is to “look back at the 1950s and sort of see what parallels we can draw” while staging it as sitcom – like Father Knows Best or The Dick Van Dyke Show – so “it can still be fun.” The production, which will conclude the company’s season-long celebration of iconic women, will run through April 20 with performances scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and April 15; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets can be purchased here for $10 to $30.

    Art on wheels once again comes to the streets of Houston as The Orange Show Center For Visionary Art presents the 37th Annual Art Car Parade, led by Saint Arnold’s founder Brock Wagner and scheduled to start at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, on Allen Parkway between Bagby and Dallas. Orange Show Executive Director Tommy Ralph Pace recently told the Houston Press that he thinks the event “is more about celebrating the spirit of creativity that the city of Houston has,” adding that “it’s such an incredible honor to be able to steward this celebration for the city.” If you can’t get your fill of art car celebrations, information about the events around the parade, such as the Art Car Ball on Friday, April 12, can be found here. The parade is free to attend.

    click to enlarge

    Houston’s Got Bollywood returns to Miller Outdoor Theatre on Saturday with Once Upon a Time to Happily Ever After.

    Photo by Navin Mediwala

    Bollywood, the “humorous moniker for the Indian cinema industry,” will come to Miller Outdoor Theatre on Saturday, April 13, at 8:15 p.m. during Houston’s Got Bollywood – Once Upon a Time to Happily Ever produced by Moksh Community Arts. The dance-theater performance by Naach Houston will feature 50 dancers in beautiful costumes telling short stories across four acts, all of which draws from the “extravagant song-and-dance scenes, romantic melodrama, and eye-catching set designs” Bollywood is known for. Like all shows at Miller Outdoor Theatre, this one is free and you can reserve free tickets here starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 12, if you want an assigned, covered seat. Alternatively, you can bring a blanket or lawn chair and head for the ticketless seating on the Hill.

    There’s a new dance collective in town, and you can get your first look at the Skylar Campbell Dance Collective when they present their debut showcase, titled Rebirth, at 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, at the MATCH. Campbell, a principal dancer with Houston Ballet, curates the evening, which features works from Guillaume Cote, Kristina Paulin and Alexei Ratmansky, along with world premiere commissions from Julia Adam, Robert Binet, Connor Walsh and Jack Wolff. Completing the program will be the talents of dancers from Houston Ballet and National Ballet of Canada, as well as live music provided by Tonya Burton and Yvonne Chen of the Monarch Chamber Players. Tickets to the performance, which is expected to run about 60 minutes, can be purchased here for $45.

    In 1979, tension between the fishing community of Seadrift, Texas, and an influx of Vietnamese immigrants led to the shooting of a local white man by a Vietnamese man, an incident that got the attention of the Ku Klux Klan and would later inspire the film Alamo Bay. On Tuesday, April 16, at 7 p.m. Asia Society Texas, in partnership with Humanities Texas, will present a screening of the documentary Seadrift followed by a talk and audience Q&A with Tim Tsai, the film’s director. Tsai has said that questions about Seadrift – like “Are the Vietnamese still there? Is it possible for a community to heal from past division and violence? If yes, how?” – “compelled” him “to find out more.” Admission is free, but registration is required here.

    The Tony Award-winning musical about the woman born Cherilyn Sarkisian but known today simply as Cher will come to the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m. when Theatre Under the Stars opens the national touring production of The Cher Show. Cher is played by three actresses in the production, and one of those actresses, Morgan Scott, recently told the Houston Press that she thinks Cher’s “re-invention of herself is what makes her absolutely so incredible,” adding that the show – even for non-Cher fans – is “a really uplifting and empowering show to go to.” Performances will continue at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and Sundays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays through April 28. Tickets can be purchased here for $40 to $139.

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    Natalie de la Garza

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  • Brandy Melville Stores Are Hell on Earth

    Brandy Melville Stores Are Hell on Earth

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    When she spots one of the painted wooden signs outside a Brandy Melville store, filmmaker Eva Orner stops in her tracks. “Since I started doing the documentary, I always sneak in and check out how many people are in there and what they’re selling,” she tells Vanity Fair. What she sees, she says, is “horrifying. I think ‘cult’ is a word that is bandied around a lot, and we were very careful when we decided to use it.”

    Orner is referring to the name of her latest documentary, Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion, which debuts on HBO on April 9. In it, the Oscar winner (Taxi to the Dark Side) unspools the dark inner workings of a fast fashion company that targets teens and has been worn by the likes of Kaia Gerber and Kendall Jenner. According to the doc, beneath soft baby-tees emblazoned with sayings like “Stressed, Depressed, But Well Dressed” is a shadowy operation that both preys upon and profits off female insecurity. The words “antisemitism,” “racism,” and “sexism” are tossed out within the first three minutes of the film regarding certain executives, a harbinger of dark deeds to be revealed. Brandy Melville did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    “Most companies maybe do one bad thing,” says Orner. With Brandy Melville, “something bad happens, and then something worse happens. And it just keeps going. By the end, your jaw is on the floor.”

    Orner, an Australian who drives an electric car and has adopted a vegetarian diet, was introduced to Brandy Melville by Oscar-nominated producer Jonathan Chinn (Black Sheep) and Oscar-winning producer Simon Chinn (Searching for Sugar Man). As the film shows, the store presents itself as less of a label than as a lifestyle. Brandy Melville hires beautiful girls who seem popular—typically thin, white, and under the age of 18—who are often recruited while shopping in the store, the doc claims. Candidates are asked to submit full-body photos and offer up their social media handles in the place of any skill-based qualifications, said one former employee that Orner interviewed. 

    Staff members of color are hired but are often relegated to working in stock rooms, ex-employees told the filmmaker. Those who work at a store’s entrance—all of whom must fit the “one size fits most” clothes the company carries—are required to take daily “store style” photos that are sent to Brandy Melville’s enigmatic founder, former workers in the doc explained. Employees could be—and reportedly were—hired and fired based on such images. “They’re like 16-year-old girls. You can find, like, 700 different reasons to fire them,” one anonymous company employee says in the doc. “Like, it’s too easy. It wasn’t even fair.” 

    All of this information was unearthed before Orner began working on her film through lawsuits brought against the company and reporting by Kate Taylor, an investigative journalist at Business Insider. (Brandy Melville denied all wrongdoing in a 2022 class-action lawsuit brought by ex-employees. The company settled for $1.5 million.) But the revelations haven’t made much of a dent in Brandy Melville’s revenue. “There has been an exposé on this company. A lot of young girls know that the company’s not great, but they still shop there,” Orner explains. “And I find that really disturbing. There comes a point in your life where you have to [decide], What kind of person do I want to be? When a brand’s been exposed as being really shit, you can get clothes elsewhere. The fact that people are so locked into this brand is really surprising.”

    Orner set out to make a film that would contextualize the company’s ethical issues within a larger environmental landscape. Her cameras traveled to the far reaches of Prato, Italy—where Brandy Melville’s clothing is produced in crowded factories—and Ghana, which has become a dumping ground for heaps of unwanted garments. In the documentary, former staff members said that higher-ups would buy the non-Brandy shirts off their backs so they could replicate and mass produce their design—a practice that has led to copyright infringement suits against the brand. (After being sued by Forever 21 in 2016, Brandy Melville’s parent company settled out of court.)

    “The level of exploitation against women is staggering,” says Orner, especially when it’s further enabled by social media platforms like Instagram, Tumblr, and TikTok. “You are being exploited by companies and doing their work when you make videos promoting them and [don’t] get paid,” she explains. “There are these armies of young girls advertising for these evil companies who are just laughing all the way to the bank.” 

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    Savannah Walsh

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