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Entertainment

Pamela Anderson opens up in a documentary that works to help reclaim her narrative

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CNN
 — 

The word “Intimate” is frequently used when describing celebrity documentaries, but it certainly applies to “Pamela, a love story,” which at one point shows Pamela Anderson lounging in the bathtub as portions of her diaries are read as voiceover. The result is a humanizing look at a woman often reduced to cartoon caricature, while occasionally feeling too conspicuously like a licensed product.

Produced by, among others, Anderson’s son Brandon Thomas Lee, director Ryan White (whose biographical documentaries include “Ask Dr. Ruth” and “Serena”) had access not only to her diaries but a collection of home movies – including, yes, the one stolen and posted for the world to see, of Anderson having sex with her then-husband, drummer Tommy Lee.

Anderson, now 55, speaks at length of that interlude, the invasiveness of having private material shown and exploited in that fashion, and what she clearly sees as a reopening of those wounds with Hulu’s limited series “Pam & Tommy,” which dramatized those events.

Anderson’s account actually does little to detract from that Emmy-nominated production, which was quite sympathetic in portraying the hurt she felt and the way the media treated her. Indeed, the clips presented here of late-night comics cashing in on Anderson as a punchline, or interviewers Matt Lauer and Larry King asking her about her breasts, do as much to endorse the Hulu version as undermine it.

“Pamela” makes clear that Anderson is letting her guard down right from the outset, as she appears makeup-free, hanging out in the small British Columbia town where she grew up, before getting discovered at a football game (fans “oohed” when she appeared on the scoreboard camera) launched her as a model and into the pages of Playboy.

As Anderson tells it, during that time she reclaimed her sexuality, having experienced abuse on more than one occasion as a child.

International stardom on “Baywatch” followed, and it’s amusing to hear Anderson reminisce not only about all the celebrities she dated during that stretch, but the whole “Running on the beach in slow motion” imagery. (There’s no mention of “Home Improvement,” or Anderson’s recent allegations in her memoir of being flashed by its star, Tim Allen, which the comic has denied.)

The indignities of that “blond bombshell” status are nicely documented here. Ditto for the intrusions of the paparazzi, who dogged her particularly after the whirlwind romance with Lee.

The feeding frenzy surrounding the sex tape “solidified the cartoon image” of her, Anderson recalls, adding, “I knew at that point my career was over.”

While “Pamela” handles all of that quite well, too much of the rest of it plays like the Hallmark Card version of Anderson’s story, from the cloying, saccharine music to the interviews with her sons, whose protectiveness toward their mother is admirable but not especially enlightening.

The last part of the documentary also feels a bit scattered, venturing into areas like Anderson’s animal-rights activism through PETA, her advocacy for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and, finally, her Broadway debut in “Chicago.”

At its best, “Pamela, a love story” strips away what in hindsight looks like misogynistic media coverage – obsessed with her looks and relationships – to consider the person behind all of that, while proving a little too determined and pliable in the goal of helping Anderson assert ownership over her narrative.

At those moments, “Pamela” might work as a love story, but it fares a little less well as a documentary.

“Pamela, a love story” premieres January 31 on Netflix.

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Entertainment

Cindy Williams, ‘Laverne & Shirley’ star, dead at 75

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CNN
 — 

Cindy Williams, the dynamic actress known best for playing the bubbly Shirley Feeney on the beloved sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” has died, according to a statement from her family, provided to CNN by a representative. She was 75.

Williams died after a short illness, said the statement from her children Zak and Emily Hudson, provided to CNN by family spokesperson and Williams’ personal assistant Liz Cranis.

“The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed,” their statement read. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”

Williams had credits spanning six decades, but it was her role on “Happy Days” spin-off “Laverne & Shirley” that endeared her to millions and made her a household name.

On the series, she starred opposite the late Penny Marshall as one half of a dynamic friend duo whose adventures powered the show, which ran for eight seasons from 1976-1983.

Born in Van Nuys, California, Williams’ interest in acting throughout high school led her to studying theater at Los Angeles City College, according to a biography provided by her family. Some of Williams’ first professional acting credits include a three-episode arc on the 1969 series “Room 222” and appearances on other shows, like “Nanny and the Professor” and “Love, American Style,” in the early 1970’s.

Williams went on to become a prolific working television and film actor, appearing in dozens of titles. But it was after she first appeared as Shirley Feeney on “Happy Days” in 1975 that her career began to take shape.

The lighthearted “Laverne & Shirley” proved to be a ratings hit and earned six Golden Globe nominations, including two for best comedy series and one for Williams in the best actress in a comedy category.

Williams also appeared in several standout films. Most notably, she starred in George Lucas’ 1973 film “American Graffiti,” which earned Williams a British Academy Film Awards nomination for best supporting actress. The film, about a group of friends who spend one wild night together before leaving for college, went on to be nominated for five Oscars, including best picture, at the 1974 Academy Awards. Williams also had roles in acclaimed films “Travels with My Aunt” by George Cukor’ in 1972 and “The Conversation” from director Francis Ford Coppola in 1974.

Williams was also an accomplished stage actress, with a long list of credits. Last year, she took her one-woman show, “Me, Myself and Shirley,” where she shared stories from throughout her career, on a national tour. She had at least one series of dates scheduled for later this year.

Upon news of her passing, Williams’ friends and fans took to social media to honor the late actress, who left a legacy of laughter.

“Happy Days” star and film director Ron Howard tweeted that Williams’ “unpretentious intelligence, talent, wit & humanity impacted every character she created & person she worked with,” going on to say that the pair worked together on six different projects together. “Lucky me,” he added.

Henry Winkler, who played Fonzie on “Happy Days,” called Williams “a fine and talented human being” on Twitter.

“Oh how I loved Cindy Williams,” Yvette Nicole Brown, who worked with Williams in 2016 when she guest starred in an episode of CBS’s “The Odd Couple,” shared on Twitter. “She was as lovely as I always imagined she’d be.”

Actor Jason Alexander wrote on Twitter: “I did not know Cindy Williams but boy did I adore her work, especially the wacky joyful funny pleasure of watching her Laverne and Shirley days. I pray she had a good life and send my sympathy to those who knew and loved her.”

Williams’ children added in their statement that they were proud of their mother for many reasons – “her lifelong mission to rescue animals, her prolific artistry, her faith” among them – but “most of all, her ability to make the world laugh!”

“May that laughter continue in everyone, because she would want that,” the statement said. “Thank you for loving our Mom, she loved you too.”



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Entertainment

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ crosses $2 billion mark in worldwide box office

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CNN
 — 

As has frequently been the case throughout his unparalleled career, James Cameron made film history again this weekend.

His long-awaited sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” has now made over $2 billion in worldwide grosses, as reported by Deadline.

That grand total is after the film’s box office take from this weekend, the sixth consecutive weekend the film has occupied the No. 1 spot since its release in December.

CNN has reached out to “Avatar: The Way of Water” producing studio Disney for comment on the film’s latest financial achievement.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” is the sequel to Cameron’s 2009 extraterrestrial epic “Avatar,” which remains at the top of the list of biggest-selling films of all time, according to Box Office Mojo.

Another of Cameron’s films is also in the $2 billion club – 1997’s “Titanic.” Only three other films are part of that club – 2015’s “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens,” “Avengers: Infinity War” from 2018, and “Avengers: Endgame” from one year later.

Cameron is therefore the only director who can boast that three of his films are among the six to have made over $2 billion, as well as in top 6 bestselling movies of all time.

The director is planning to release at least three other “Avatar” sequels going forward.

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US

Alec Baldwin and armorer to be charged with involuntary manslaughter after fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of ‘Rust’

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CNN
 — 

Actor Alec Baldwin, who fatally shot a cinematographer on the set of the Western movie “Rust” in 2021, and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors said Thursday.

The family of Halyna Hutchins, who was the film’s director of photography, thanked prosecutors for their decision.

“It is a comfort to the family that, in New Mexico, no one is above the law,” the family said in a statement released by attorney Brian J. Panish.

Baldwin has maintained he was not aware the gun he fired during a rehearsal contained a live round. His attorney called the prosecutors’ decision “a terrible miscarriage of justice.”

“This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice. Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the movie set,” attorney Luke Nikas said.

“He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win.”

Live updates: Alec Baldwin to be charged in fatal ‘Rust’ shooting

An attorney for Gutierrez Reed said he believes jurors will find his client not guilty.

“We were expecting the charges but they’re absolutely wrong as to Hannah – we expect that she will be found not guilty by a jury and she did not commit manslaughter,” attorney Jason Bowles said in a statement Thursday.

“She has been emotional about the tragedy but has committed no crime.”

Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed each face two counts of involuntary manslaughter so that a jury can decide which specific count may be more appropriate, New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said.

If convicted, “they will only be sentenced to one count,” the prosecutor said.

In either case, a conviction is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and up to a $5,000 fine, prosecutors said.

But one count would involve a firearm enhancement, or added mandatory penalty, because a firearm was involved. In that case, the crime could be punishable by a mandatory five years in jail, prosecutors said.

The district attorney said she believed “Rust” had a “really fast and loose set,” citing “a lack of safety and safety standards” and “live rounds on set – they were mixed in with regular dummy rounds.”

“Nobody was checking those, or least they weren’t checking them consistently,” Carmack-Altwies said.

“And then they somehow got loaded into a gun, handed off to Alec Baldwin; he didn’t check it, he didn’t do any of the things that he was supposed to do to make sure that he was safe or that anyone around him was safe. And then he pointed the gun at Halyna Hutchins and he pulled the trigger.”

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

Director Joel Souza was also shot and injured. No charges will be filed against Souza in relation to the shooting.

In the summary of the postmortem investigation into Hutchins’ death – which was formally signed by the New Mexico chief medical investigator – the cause of death is listed as “gunshot wound of chest,” and the manner of death is listed as an “accident.”

“Review of available law enforcement reports showed no compelling demonstration that the firearm was intentionally loaded with live ammunition on set. Based on all available information, including the absence of obvious intent to cause harm or death, the manner of death is best classified as accident,” the report concluded.

An FBI forensics report said the weapon could not be fired during FBI testing of its normal functioning without pulling the trigger while the gun was cocked. The report also noted the gun eventually malfunctioned during testing after internal parts fractured, which caused the gun to go off in the cocked position without pulling the trigger.

The shooting has led to a whirlwind of finger-pointing and allegations of negligence from those involved.

In an interview with CNN in August, Baldwin placed responsibility for the tragedy on Gutierrez Reed, who served as the armorer and props assistant on the film, and assistant director Dave Halls, who handed him the gun.

Halls signed a plea agreement “for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon,” the district attorney’s office announced in its statement Thursday. Prosecutors said the terms of that deal include six months of probation.

On Thursday, Halls’ attorney Lisa Tarraco released a statement in defense of her client, who does not face charges in connection with the tragedy.

“Absent no charges at all, this is the best outcome for Mr. Halls and the case,” Tarraco said. “He can now put this matter behind him and allow the focus of this tragedy to be on the shooting victims and changing the industry so this type of accident will never happen again. “

In November, Baldwin filed suit against Gutierrez Reed and Halls and other individuals associated with the film, according to a cross-complaint obtained by CNN.

Through their respective attorneys, both Gutierrez Reed and Halls maintained they were not at fault and accused Baldwin of deflecting blame onto others.

Gutierrez Reed also sued the movie’s gun and ammunition supplier and its founder – who deny wrongdoing – and alleged a cache of dummy ammunition was sold with live rounds mixed in.

In October, Hutchins’ family reached an undisclosed settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Baldwin and others involved in producing the film.

Matthew Hutchins, widower of Halyna Hutchins, described her death as a “terrible accident” in a statement at the time of the settlement. Production on “Rust” was to resume this month with Matthew Hutchins joining as an executive producer on the film as part of the agreement.

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World

‘Russia’s Rambo’ — once a Putin favorite — says he’d now fight for Ukraine and feels ‘nothing but hatred’ for his home country

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CNN
 — 

Russian actor Artur Smolyaninov was the star of one of President Vladimir Putin’s favorite films – about a Soviet unit making a last-ditch stand against Afghan insurgents. Now he is classified as a “foreign agent” and faces criminal investigation.

Smolyaninov was the hero of “Devyataya Rota” (The 9th Company), a Russian feature film that came out in 2005. He played the part of the last soldier standing during a battle in Afghanistan, which Soviet forces occupied for a decade. He was often described as Russia’s Rambo, a nod to the US action movies starring Sylvester Stallone.

Much has changed since then. Smolyaninov is in exile and in a recent interview said he was prepared to fight on Ukraine’s side and kill Russian soldiers. He told Novaya Gazeta last week: “I feel nothing but hatred to the people on the other (Russian) side of the frontline. And if I were there on the ground, there’d be no mercy.”

He said a former colleague had gone to fight on the Russian side. “Would I shoot him? Without any doubt! Do I keep my options to go fight for Ukraine open? Absolutely! This is the only way for me. And if I were to go to this war, I would only fight for Ukraine.”

A few days later, the Russian Ministry of Justice classified the actor as a foreign agent.

Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Russia’s Investigative Committee, also ordered that a criminal case be opened against Smolyaninov.

Smolyaninov has been highly critical of the campaign in Ukraine. He recently recorded a Soviet-era song – Temnaya Noch (Dark Night) – with reworked lyrics.

It included the lines: “Take a look, occupier, How maternity homes are without power, How children sit in shelters. And how books are drowned. The Russian night Has reached schools and hospitals.”

Another verse referred to “a bunker, Where one Führer hides, And a bald little cook, Feeds the Fuhrer from a spoon.” The cook was a reference to Yevgeny Prigozhin, who runs the Wagner private military company and won catering contracts from the Kremlin.

When he first spoke out against the war last summer, Smolyaninov, who at the time he was in Russia, told an interviewer it was “a catastrophe, everything collapsed: ashes, smoke, stench, tears.”

Last October, a Moscow district court imposed a fine of 30,000 rubles (430 US dollars) against Smolyaninov on charges of discrediting the Russian armed forces. That same month, he left Russia and is thought to be in Latvia at present.

Smolyaninov recounted how he’d crossed the Russian border into Norway. “I crossed the border on foot… You just walk 30 meters and there are completely different people in front of you. They are so soft. Even the look is different.”

The film “Devyataya Rota” was so popular that Putin welcomed the actors and crew, including Smolyaninov to his residence outside Moscow in November 2005, where he put on a special showing of the movie.

The Kremlin said that after watching the film, Putin talked with director Fyodor Bondarchuk and the leading actors, including Smolyaninov.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported at the time that Putin declared that the film “takes the soul, you immerse yourself in the film.”

“The film is very strong, such a real serious thing about the war and people who found themselves in extreme conditions in this war and showed themselves very worthy,” Putin said at the time.

The Russian Justice Ministry has added a number of others to its list of foreign agents in recent days, including music critic Artemy Troitsky and several journalists.

“These people were put on the register under article 7 of Russian law on the control of the activities of persons under foreign influence,” according to Russian state news agency TASS.

It was also reported this weekend that two well-known theatrical actors had been fired from the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater for criticizing the war in Ukraine. Dmitry Nazarov and his wife Olga Vasilyeva were dismissed by the artistic director of the theater, Konstantin Khabensky, who accused the actors of “anti-Russian sentiments.”

The state news agency TASS confirmed the duo had been fired, without specifying a reason.

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Entertainment

Why returning to Westeros, Middle-earth and ‘Star Wars’ felt so good in 2022

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Editor’s Note: The past year was filled with uncertainty over politics, the economy and the ongoing pandemic. In the face of big changes, people found themselves longing for a different time. CNN’s series “The Past Is Now” examines how nostalgia manifested in our culture in 2022 — for better or for worse.



CNN
 — 

After a dreary pandemic winter, a summer surge and a deluge of distressing news in between, it felt good to have dragons on TV again.

“House of the Dragon,” a prequel to HBO’s über-hit “Game of Thrones,” didn’t attempt to reinvent its franchise. “Dragon” checked all the “Thrones” boxes: Bodily mutilation, violence against women, scenes filmed in near-darkness, wigs. (HBO and CNN share parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.)

And though dragons didn’t get nearly enough screen time, it was hard to complain when the CGI winged creatures soared and provided us a fantastical escape.

One week after HBO returned to Westeros, J.R.R. Tolkien fans were whisked back to Middle Earth, with all its Orcs and Elves and wizards, in “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” on Amazon Prime. That same month, Disney’s acclaimed “Star Wars” prequel-to-a-prequel, “Andor,” started streaming. “Interview with the Vampire” and “Wednesday” closed out a year that also saw the TV returns of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Spock.

If the 2020s are the era of “peak TV,” then 2022 was the year of peak IP TV (IP meaning intellectual property), particularly in the fantasy and sci-fi realms. Blockbuster productions such as “House of the Dragon” and “Rings of Power” largely stuck to the proven formula of their predecessors. There were disappointments, like two “Star Wars” miniseries that ostensibly reintroduced beloved characters but illuminated little about them, instead dimming much of the magic that makes the galaxy far, far away so consistently entertaining.

But there were welcome surprises, too, with “Andor” and “Interview with the Vampire,” both of which maintained the heart of their original stories but were decidedly fresher, incorporating more overt themes concerning race, sexuality and radicalism.

Series that transport us to fictional worlds we know well with characters we love are entertaining balms in times of uncertainty. Whether they can stand on their own is largely determined by fans old and new. But in spite of everything 2022 threw at us, it was also a year where we could escape into new tales of elves and vampires — and even those incestuous Targaryens and their magnificent dragons.

Part of the reason why so many reboots, prequels and spinoffs have been cropping up recently is because of the streaming boom, said Daniel Herbert, an associate professor at the University of Michigan who studies film and media. Working within a relatively new medium, companies “grow more conservative in programming” and turn to established titles and fanbases that have been hits in the past, he said.

From a business standpoint, building on existing powerhouses has proven successful this year: The “House of the Dragon” pilot was one of HBO’s most-watched in years, with nearly 10 million viewers, and its finale was HBO’s biggest since the 2019 end of the original “Thrones.” And while Netflix is more opaque with its numbers, the streamer has said that “Addams Family” spinoff “Wednesday” surpassed a viewership record previously set by its flagship smash “Stranger Things.”

But we, the audience, return to these familiar worlds time and again because they’re creative safe havens – we’ve been there before, and we’ve liked the time we’ve spent there. We expect to continue to enjoy the stories produced in these fictional realms.

“I think we overestimate our desire for originality,” Herbert said. “There is comfort in repetition … in having clear expectations and having those expectations fulfilled.”

Familiar IP has a buoying quality, a way to maintain consistency in an otherwise unstable world. We expect bloodshed on “House of the Dragon” and morbid one-liners on “Wednesday.” Both deliver, even if the storylines are new.

“Recycling characters and story worlds is one way of maintaining consistency,” Herbert said.

What’s more, franchise storytelling can be “psychologically useful,” especially during periods of stress and uncertainty, said Clay Routledge, a researcher and director of the Human Flourishing Lab at the Archbridge Institute, a policy think tank in Washington DC, where he studies nostalgia.

“When the world feels chaotic, or we are experiencing a lot of personal or societal distress, these shared stories help stabilize us,” Routledge said. “Our entertainment interests can help us take advantage of the psychological and motivational power of nostalgia,” which can make us feel “energized, optimistic and socially connected.”

That social connectedness is increasingly rare in the streaming age, but many of these blockbuster series renewed it: “House of the Dragon” was appointment viewing on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET. It felt as though its viewers were actually tuning in at once, together, and reacting live around the digital water cooler.

If you’re a hardcore “Star Wars” fan, you remember the awe of watching the Millennium Falcon jump into hyperspace for the first time or the horror and confusion of Jar-Jar Binks getting his tongue stuck in the engine of a pod racer. You want new additions to the “Star Wars” canon to replicate those moments of wonder and genuine surprise.

But prequels, reboots, spinoffs and the like have a tricky balance to strike — they’ve got to have enough of the same to remind viewers of why they loved the franchise in the first place and enough newness to pique the interest of a new generation of viewers.

“Naturally, we are drawn to IPs we have a nostalgic or sentimental connection to,” said Andrew Abeyta, a social psychologist and assistant professor at Rutgers University-Camden. “Because these IPs mean so much to us, it creates high and specific expectations. Nostalgia is a feeling, and part of the allure with nostalgic media is that they make us feel the same way we did when we first experienced them.”

Such great expectations can be stifling. “The Rings of Power,” reported to be the most expensive TV series ever made at an estimated $465 million for its first season alone, was perhaps too big to fail. Narrative risks were few, and critics of the series felt it was poorly paced, lacked tension and couldn’t escape the shadow of Peter Jackson’s beloved film trilogy.

But many viewers don’t want more of the same when it comes to new chapters in their favorite fictional universes, said Herbert.

“If we were truly nostalgic, we’d just rewatch the originals,” he said. “It’s about wanting more, wanting the past to catch up with us … wanting those characters to come up to date with our own present historical moment.”

“House of the Dragon” attempted some cultural commentary alongside its escapism with its depictions of traumatic childbirth (with mixed results). “Andor” was praised for finally making the galactic rebellion feel radical, focusing on a small contingent of political actors working to make real change often at great cost. Its protagonist becomes a real rebel over the course of Season 1, out of necessity as much as genuine belief in the cause (partly thanks to a manifesto bequeathed by a dead comrade).

And AMC is breeding new Anne Rice fans with its “Interview with the Vampire” adaptation. Set in both early-20th-century New Orleans and present-day Dubai, the series makes sexuality and race central themes, inextricably tied to the story of emotionally tortured vampires trying to be a family and the journalist trying to get the story.

But new adaptations of beloved properties can also provoke what Herbert called a “perverse nostalgia”: When franchises like “Lord of the Rings” and “Star Wars” cast people of color, some vocal fans reject their inclusion in those worlds based on adaptations that existed before an Afro-Latino actor played a heroic elf or a Black woman portrayed a conflicted assassin who worked closely with Darth Vader (whose own iconic voice has for decades been provided by a Black actor, James Earl Jones).

This past year was a standout for nostalgic storytelling based on existing IP – something many of us needed when reality provided little hope.

“People turn to IPs they have sentimental or nostalgic connection to during tough times for comfort,” Abeyta said. “Nostalgia is a quick and effective way of fending to temporarily fend off loneliness and stress.”

These series kept millions of us company during yet another trying year, attracting both old fans and new, aided by free publicity on TikTok (see the “Wednesday” dance phenomenon or the now-ubiquitous audio of “House of the Dragon” actor Emma D’arcy’s drink order).

Telling and retelling stories is a trend as old as stories are, and for nearly as long as we’ve been making movies and TV, we’ve been remaking them, Herbert said. As long we’re still dancing with Wednesday Addams, singing along with Poppy the Harfoot or watching dragons dispatch enemies with bated breath, TV will continue to churn out spinoffs, prequels and reboots of familiar franchises.

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Entertainment

Barack Obama shares his favorite movies and books of 2022

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CNN
 — 

Former President Barack Obama stuck to an annual tradition Friday, releasing a list of his favorites for the year of 2022, including movies and books.

“I always look forward to sharing my lists of favorite books, movies, and music with all of you,” Obama tweeted. “First up, here are some of the books I read and enjoyed this year. Let me know which books I should check out in 2023.”

Among his favorite written works, Obama listed “The School for Good Mothers” by Jessamine Chan and “The Light We Carry” by former first lady Michelle Obama, noting, “I’m a bit biased on this one.”

On his list of favorite movies, the former president included “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Descendant,” which he also noted he was “biased” about since the Netflix documentary was produced by the Obama-founded company Higher Ground Productions.

“I saw some great movies this year – here are some of my favorites. What did I miss?” Obama wrote in another tweet.

Social media denizens quickly pointed out that Obama left off the list one of the highest grossing movies of the year: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The Marvel hit and sequel to 2018’s “Black Panther” has come in second behind “Top Gun: Maverick” in box office gross this year, bringing in more than $421 million at the domestic box office alone since its November release, according to Box Office Mojo. “Black Panther” made the list of Obama’s favorite movies in 2018.

Check out the full list of Obama’s favorite movies and books for 2022:

“The Light We Carry” – Michelle Obama

“Sea of Tranquility” – Emily St. John Mandel

“Trust” – Hernan Diaz

“The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams” – Stacy Schiff

“The Furrows: A Novel” – Namwali Serpell

“South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation” – Imani Perry

“The School for Good Mothers” – Jessamine Chan

“Black Cake” – Charmaine Wilkerson

“Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands” – Kate Beaton

“An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us” – Ed Yong

“Liberation Day” – George Saunders

“The Candy House” – Jennifer Egan

“Afterlives” – Abdulrazak Gurnah

“The Fabelmans”

“Decision to Leave”

“The Woman King”

“Aftersun”

“Emily the Criminal”

“Petite Maman”

“Descendant”

“Happening”

“Till”

“Everything Everywhere All at Once”

“Top Gun: Maverick”

“The Good Boss”

“Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy”

“A Hero”

“Hit the Road”

“Tár”

“After Yang”



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Science

10 moments in 2022 straight out of a sci-fi movie

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Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.



CNN
 — 

From a spacecraft the size of a refrigerator plowing into an asteroid (deliberately) to a helicopter trying to catch a rocket plummeting back to Earth, 2022 offered surreal moments in space that could have been ripped from the pages of a science fiction movie script.

Among the memorable events were billionaires mapping out plans to explore the cosmos and scientists attempting to find answers to perplexing questions, only to discover deeper mysteries.

Researchers managed to grow plants in lunar soil for the first time, while engineers successfully tested an inflatable heat shield that could land humans on Mars. And scientists determined that a rare interstellar meteor crashed into Earth nearly a decade ago.

Here’s a look back at 10 times space travel and exploration felt more like a plot from a Hollywood movie than real life.

A NASA spacecraft intentionally slammed into Dimorphos, a small asteroid that orbits a larger space rock named Didymos. While this collision seemed like something out of the 1998 movie “Armageddon,” the Double Asteroid Redirection Test was a demonstration of deflection technology — and the first conducted on behalf of planetary defense.

Many tuned in on September 26 to watch as the surface of Dimorphos came into view for the first time, with DART’s cameras beaming back live imagery. The view ended after the spacecraft collided with the asteroid, but images captured by space telescopes and an Italian satellite provided dramatic photos of the aftermath.

The DART mission marked the first time humanity intentionally changed the motion of a celestial object in space. The spacecraft altered the moonlet asteroid’s orbit by 32 minutes. Neither Dimorphos nor Didymos pose a threat to Earth, but the double-asteroid system was a perfect target to test deflection technology.

Fast radio bursts in space have intrigued astronomers since their 2007 discovery, but a mysterious radio burst with a pattern similar to a heartbeat upped the ante this year.

Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are intense, millisecond-long bursts of radio waves with unknown origins — which only fuels speculation that their cause is more alien than cosmic.

Astronomers estimate that the “heartbeat signal” came from a galaxy roughly 1 billion light-years away, but the location and cause of the burst are unknown.

Additionally, astronomers also detected a powerful radio wave laser, known as a megamaser, and a spinning celestial object releasing giant bursts of energy unlike anything they had ever seen before.

Speaking of strange objects, astronomers made a new leap forward in understanding odd radio circles, or ORCs. No, they aren’t the goblinlike humanoids from “The Lord of the Rings” books, but these fascinating objects have baffled scientists since their discovery in 2020.

The space rings are so massive that they each measure about 1 million light-years across — 16 times bigger than our Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers believe it takes the circles 1 billion years to reach their maximum size, and they are so large they have expanded past other galaxies.

Astronomers took a new detailed photo of odd radio circles using the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory’s MeerKAT telescope, narrowing down the possible theories that might explain these celestial oddballs.

Black holes are known for behaving badly and shredding stars — so astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope were surprised when they saw a black hole fueling star birth.

Their observation revealed a gaseous umbilical cord stretching from a black hole at the center of a dwarf galaxy to a stellar nursery where stars are born. The stream of gas provided by the black hole triggered a fireworks show of star birth as it interacted with the cloud, which led to a cluster of forming stars.

This year, astronomers also captured an image of the supermassive black hole lurking at the center of our galaxy, and Hubble spied a lone black hole wandering the Milky Way. And X-ray signals from black holes were converted into eerie sounds we won’t soon forget.

Rocket Lab, a US-based company that launches out of New Zealand, is trying to figure out a way to recapture its rocket boosters as they tumble down toward Earth after launch. In 2022, the company made two attempts to deploy a helicopter with a hook attachment. The wild spectacle is all part of Rocket Lab’s plans to save money by recovering and reusing rocket parts after they vault satellites to space.

The first attempt in May appeared to go as planned when the helicopter snagged a booster. But the pilots made the decision to drop the rocket part due to safety concerns.

On the second attempt, the rocket never came into view, and pilots confirmed the booster wouldn’t be returning to the factory dry. In a tweet, the company reported there was a data loss issue during the rocket’s reentry.

NASA flew its first virtual assistant on a moon mission with the space agency’s historic Artemis I flight — a version of Amazon’s Alexa.

While not exactly reminiscent of HAL 9000, the antagonistic voice assistant in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” the decision did spark plenty of facetious comparisons.

The Artemis I mission was uncrewed, but NASA’s ground control teams used the voice assistant, called Callisto, to control cabin lighting and play music during the journey. It did not have the ability to open or close doors, for the record.

Artemis I was just a test mission, and NASA is still evaluating how the voice recognition system may be included on future missions.

Japanese fashion mogul Yusaku Maezawa picked eight passengers who he said will join him on a trip around the moon, powered by SpaceX’s yet-to-be-flown Starship spacecraft. The group includes American DJ Steve Aoki and popular space YouTuber Tim Dodd, better known as the Everyday Astronaut.

The mission, called Dear Moon, was first announced in 2018 with the intention of flying by 2023. Maezawa initially aimed to take a group of artists with him on a six-day trip around the moon but later announced he had expanded his definition of an “artist.” Instead, Maezawa announced in a video last year that he would be open to people from all walks of life as long as they viewed themselves as artists.

Separately, millionaire Dennis Tito — who became the first person to pay his way to the International Space Station in the early 2000s — made his own lunar travel plans with SpaceX.

Chunks of space debris were reportedly found on farmland in Australia’s Snowy Mountains, and NASA and authorities confirmed that the objects were likely scraps of hardware from a SpaceX Dragon capsule intentionally jettisoned as the spacecraft reentered Earth’s atmosphere in May 2021.

It’s common for space debris to fall to Earth. But it’s far less common for the objects to wind up on land since most space garbage is discarded in the ocean.

Perhaps among the most unique space start-ups in the world, SpinLaunch aims to whip satellites around in a vacuum-sealed chamber and toss them into space rather than put them on a rocket.

The company began testing a scaled-down version of its technology last year, but things ramped up in 2022. SpinLaunch notched its 10th test flight in October.

There’s a science fiction connection as well. SpinLaunch founder Jonathan Yaney cites the work of Jules Verne — the “Journey to the Center of Earth” writer who died more than 50 years before the first satellite traveled to space — as the inspiration for SpinLaunch.

It’s not clear whether the company’s technology will ever come to fruition. But in the meantime, this group will be in the New Mexico desert attempting to bring art to life.

If it wasn’t surreal enough watching Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and other celebrities travel to space on his self-funded, suborbital rocket last year, hearing that the rocket exploded a little more than a year later over West Texas — albeit on a trip without any passengers — was a harrowing moment that brought home the adage “space is hard.” However, the crew capsule, which was carrying science projects and other inanimate payloads on September 12, was able to land successfully.

“The capsule landed safely and the booster impacted within the designated hazard area,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a September statement. Bezos’ Blue Origin has been in limbo since and has not returned to flight.

And with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic still grounded, neither of the companies spearheading suborbital space tourism last year are conducting routine flights.



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Entertainment

Harvey Weinstein: Jury reaches verdict in sexual assault trial

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CNN
 — 

[Breaking news update, published at 6:05 p.m. ET]

A Los Angeles jury reached a verdict Monday in the sexual assault trial of Harvey Weinstein, the former movie producer who is accused of using his Hollywood influence to lure women into private meetings and assault them. The verdict will be announced shortly.

Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to seven charges in all: two counts each of forcible rape, sexual battery by restraint and forcible oral copulation, and one count of sexual penetration by foreign object.

If found guilty, Weinstein could face 60 years to life in prison, plus an additional five years.

The verdict was reached as jurors entered their third week of deliberations, meeting for a total of 41 hours over a period of 10 days.

Weinstein was convicted of similar charges in New York in 2020 and was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

[Original story, published at 2:02 p.m. ET]

A Los Angeles jury resumed deliberations Monday in Harvey Weinstein’s second sexual assault trial, meeting for a tenth day to decide on a verdict after weeks of testimony.

The disgraced movie mogul, who is accused of using his Hollywood influence to lure women into private meetings and assault them, awaits a decision from behind bars.

Weinstein faces two counts of forcible rape and five counts of sexual assault related to accusations from four women, including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a filmmaker and the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who alleged Weinstein raped her in a hotel room in 2005.

Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges against him. He initially faced 11 charges, but four counts connected to an unnamed woman were dropped after she did not testify.

The jury had already deliberated for about 37 total hours when they adjourned last Wednesday, without a verdict reached.

The former film producer is already serving a 23-year sentence for a New York sexual assault conviction. His attorneys have appealed that conviction, which has placed more attention on the outcome of the trial in Los Angeles.

If the jury in Los Angeles finds him guilty, Weinstein could face 60 years to life in prison, plus an additional five years.

The Los Angeles jury has deliberated longer than the New York jury in Weinstein’s first criminal trial, in which he was convicted of criminal sex act and third-degree rape after 26 hours of deliberations.

As deliberations went on in Los Angeles, the jury asked the court a question and at least twice asked for testimony to be read back. Los Angeles Superior Court officials have not provided specifics on those requests.

The weekslong Los Angeles trial saw emotional testimony from Weinstein’s accusers – a model, a dancer, a massage therapist and Siebel Newsom – all of whom were asked to recount the details of their allegations against him, provide details of meetings with the producer from years ago, and explain their reactions to the alleged assaults.

In closing arguments, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez called Weinstein a “titan” who used his power in Hollywood to prey on and silence women.

“Rapists rape. You can look at the pattern,” fellow prosecutor Paul Thompson told jurors.

“You have irrefutable, overwhelming evidence about the nature of this man and what he did to these women,” Thompson said.

Meanwhile, Weinstein’s attorneys have maintained the allegations are either fabricated or occurred consensually as part of a “transactional relationship” with the movie producer, repeatedly saying there is no evidence of assault.

Defense attorney Alan Jackson called the accusers “fame and fortune seekers.”

The trial in Los Angeles included testimony from the four accusers identified as Jane Does in court, and other witnesses, including experts, law enforcement, friends of accusers and former aides to Weinstein.

Additionally, four women testified they were subjected to similar behavior by Weinstein in other jurisdictions.

Each morning at trial, Weinstein was brought from a correctional facility and wheeled into the Los Angeles courtroom wearing a suit and tie and holding a composition notebook.

His accusers all began their oftentimes emotional testimonies by identifying him in the courtroom as he looked on.

“He’s wearing a suit, and a blue tie and he’s staring at me,” Siebel Newsom said last month, before what was one of the most emotional moments of the trial.

On Thursday of last week, defense attorney Jackson asked jurors if they could “accept what (the Jane Does) say as gospel,” arguing what they said was a lack of forensic evidence supporting their claim.

“Five words that sum up the entirety of the prosecution’s case: ‘Take my word for it,’” Jackson said. “‘Take my word for it that he showed up at my hotel room unannounced. Take my word for it that I showed up at his hotel room. Take my word for it that I didn’t consent. Take my word for it, that I said no.’ “

Siebel Newsom described an hourslong “cat-and-mouse period,” which preceded her alleged assault. She, like other accusers, described feeling “frozen” that day.

Attorneys for Weinstein do not deny the incident occurred, but said he believed it was consensual.

Jackson called the incident “consensual, transactional sex,” adding: “Regret is not the same thing as rape. And it’s important we make that distinction in this courtroom.”

Women’s rights lawyer Gloria Allred, who is representing Jane Doe 2 in the case, told CNN she hopes the jury sees her client “has no motive at all to do anything but tell the truth.”

“She never sought or received any compensation … She doesn’t live in California anymore. But she is testifying because she’s been asked to testify and I hope that they see her as the young woman that she was when she met Harvey Weinstein, and the woman that she is today approximately nine to 10 years later. Her life has changed,” Allred said.

“To be willing to subject yourself to what could be a very brutal cross-examination. That takes a very special person to do that. And she is a special person. I’m very proud,” Allred said.

In her closing arguments, Martinez also highlighted the women who testified chose to do so despite knowing they would face tough conditions in court.

“The truth is that, as you sit here, we know the despicable behavior the defendant engaged in. He thought he was so powerful that people would … excuse his behavior,” Martinez said. “That’s just Harvey being Harvey. That’s just Hollywood. And for so long that’s what everyone did. Everyone just turned their heads.”

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Entertainment

‘Beauty and the Beast’ live: H.E.R. as a guitar-shredding Belle is the princess vibe we deserve

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CNN
 — 

The 30th Anniversary celebration of the animated classic “Beauty and the Beast” that aired on ABC on Thursday night had a tall — and at times confusing — order: It was a live show, it was a dance performance and it was a look back at the movie’s making, with portions of the original film used strategically to bridge the gaps in the story. A network biting off more than it should chew? A tale as old as time, you could say.

Luckily, the artists at the center of the live performances and dance numbers brought the show to life in a way that brought a castle’s-worth of magic to the stage in a vibrant display that more than adequately honored the beloved 1991 movie.

The live elements of the show — particularly the artful dance pieces, like the one in which the artists mimicked the motions of petals falling from the enchanted rose, and the iconic music numbers like “Be Our Guest” — could have easily stood alone and if you at any point wished they would have been able to, you’re not alone.

Perhaps it was a testament to the casting — David Alan Grier as an appropriately salty Cogsworth, Martin Short as Lumière, Shania Twain as twangy Mrs. Potts – that one could be left wanting more, especially given the hit-and-miss nature of the live shows that have preceded it.

But most credit should go to H.E.R., Josh Groban and an outstanding Joshua Henry in the roles of Belle, Beast and Gaston, respectively.

The male leads held their moments to the surprise of no one. Groban stood out most in his performance of “If I Can’t Love Her” from the stage version of the film and Henry showed off his mighty vocal power in “The Mob Song” in a way that makes you wish someone had been so smart as to cast him in the 2017 film.

But it was H.E.R., who bucked tradition with a guitar-shredding moment at the show’s conclusion, that brought the audience the risk this show needed to step out of a mighty animated shadow and move Belle into 2022 in a way we deserve more of.

If this is what Disney leans into in forthcoming princess iterations, be our guest.



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