Month: October 2022

Alec Baldwin is paying tribute to Halyna Hutchins one year after she died inthe Peace shooting.

The 64-year-old actor — who was rehearsing with a prop gun on the New Mexicofilm set when it discharged and killed the cinematographer — posted a photo ofHutchins at work operating a movie camera.

“One year ago today…” he captioned the image.

On Oct. 21, 2021, Baldwin, an actor and producer on the Western film, waspracticing his draw from his holster in a church set on the Bonanza CreekRanch outside Santa Fe in New Mexico. He claimed he had been told it was a”cold gun,” containing no ammunition, but it discharged and contained a liveround. The projectile penetrated Hutchins near her shoulder and continuedthrough to director Joel Souza. Hutchins fell to the ground and crew membersrushed to help her followed by medics. Hutchins was helicoptered to a hospitalbut died from her injuries at age 42. Souza was treated and recovered.

There have been countless reports about alleged safety issues on the set ofthe low-budget film. Baldwin denied responsibility for Hutchins’s death andmaintained that he cocked the gun but did not pull the trigger. A FBIforensics report stated that the gun could not have been fired without pullingthe trigger. Criminal charges remain up to the local district attorney’soffice.

Alec Baldwin was interviewed about the shooting by ABC News in December.(Photo: Jeff Neira/ABC via Getty Images) ALEC BALDWIN, GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS

“On the anniversary of the tragedy on the Peace film set in Santa Fe County,District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweis remains committed to pursuing justicefor the victims, and getting answers for the community,” Heather Brewer,spokesperson for the Office of the First Judicial District Attorney, State ofNew Mexico, told Fox News on Friday. “As soon as the district attorneyreceives the full report from the Santa Fe County Sheriff, she and her team ofprofessional attorneys and investigators will thoroughly review all theevidence and make a thoughtful decision about whether to bring charges againstthose involved. No one is above the law and every victim deserves justice.”

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Sante Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Juan Rios told the same outlet,”The Peace investigation case file is under final review by the sheriff’soffice before it will be submitted to the Santa Fe district attorney. We haveno set date as to when this will occur. Beyond this information, our agencyhas no further comment.”

On Thursday, it was announced that Peace — which will resume production inJanuary — will not film in New Mexico, where investigators continue to piecetogether the tragic events of that day.

“The production is considering other locations, including in California, butno decisions have been made,” attorney Melina Spadone said in a statement onbehalf of Rust Movie Productions.

The fact that film is resuming production at all is recent news. Halted nearlya year, it was announced on Oct. 5 that a settlement had been reached in acivil lawsuit between Baldwin, Peace producers and Hutchins’s family,including her husband Matthew and their young son. As part of the agreement,the film was green-lit to resume in January and Matthew is to serve asexecutive producer.

The DA’s office was quick to add that the settlement has “no impact” onpotential criminal charges. Carmack-Altweis and her team are consideringcharges against as many as four people, including Baldwin, it was noted in anAugust letter she wrote asking for emergency funding to cover potential trialcosts. But the investigation, by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office,continues with a focus on how live ammo made it onto the set. Baldwin, thefilm’s armor Hannah Gutierrez Reed, assistant director Dave Halls and propmaster Sarah Zachry were among those interviewed by investigators. The .45Long Colt revolver was sent to an FBI forensics lab for testing; Baldwin’scellphone records were obtained and analyzed.

When it was announced that Peace would resume production, Baldwin said hewas “pleased” with the development, adding, “Throughout this difficultprocess, everyone has maintained the specific desire to do what is best forHalyna’s son. We are grateful to everyone who contributed to the resolution ofthis tragic and painful situation.”

Baldwin previously said Hutchins “was my friend. The day I arrived in Santa Feto start shooting, I took her to dinner with Joel [Souza]. We were a very,very well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible eventhappened.”

He also praised her in his infamous sit-down with ABC News in December when hefirst broke his silence about the tragedy. He said he “loved working with thiswoman. She was a joy. Everyone loved her as a person. And everyone admired hertalent.”

Baldwin detailed to the outlet his version of what transpired that day. Hesaid he and Hutchins blocked out the scene, which saw his character woundedand cornered as he drew his weapon against two opponents. He said he was toldhe had a cold gun and Hutchins directed his every move to get the best cameraangles.

“Everything is at her direction,” he claimed. “[Hutchins] says to me, ‘Holdthe gun lower. Go to your right. OK, right there. All right, do that. Now showit a little bit lower.’ … She’s guiding me through how she wants me to holdthe gun for this angle. I’m holding the gun where she told me to hold it,which ended up being aimed right below her armpit.”

Baldwin insisted, “I didn’t pull the trigger… I cock the gun. I go, ‘Can yousee that? Can you see that? Can you see that? And then I let go of the hammerof the gun, and the gun goes off. I let go of the hammer of the gun, the gungoes off.”

He said in that moment, there was a bang and everyone was horrified andshocked. Baldwin saw Hutchins go down and thought, “Did she faint? The notionthat there was a live round in that gun did not dawn on me ’til probably 45minutes to an hour later.”

Baldwin said the set was cleared as Hutchins and Souza were tended to bymedics, and he and other crew members had their eyes fixed on the emergencyhelicopter that arrived about 30 minutes later. He met with sheriff’s deputiessoon after and they showed him a photo of a lead bullet that had been removedfrom Souza — and told him that Hutchins didn’t survive.

The talk of the day is about The Watcher , a series that appeared on Netflixlast week. Choose a bizarre true story, make a contemporary series about itand you are sure to be successful, Netflix must have thought. After thesuccess of Dahmer they also care with The Watcher for unprecedentedsuccess. The series, inspired by a true story, is about a house on 647Boulevard.

This is what the mother of a Jeffrey Dahmer victim of the series thinks >

The Watcher on Netflix

Dean (Bobby Cannavale) and Nora Brannock (Naomi Watts) have just bought theirdream home in the idyllic suburb of Westfield, New Jersey. Although it’s abeautiful house they’ve invested all their savings in, it turns out theneighborhood isn’t very welcoming. Soon they are ravaged with ominous lettersfrom someone who calls himself ‘The Watcher’ and the Brannock family isterrorized. Will the secrets of this neighborhood finally come out? The serieswas inspired by a true story, but what exactly is that story?

The Broaddus family bought the home at 647 Boulevard, New Jersey in 2014.Derek and Maria Broaddus bought the home for $1.3 million from John and AndreaWoods, who had lived there for over 23 years. When they started the renovationof the house, they received a letter addressed to ‘the new owners’. The senderof the letter identified himself as The Watcher, claiming to be the guardianof the house, as seen in the brand new Netflix series.

The real family responds

Editor Reeves Wiedeman wrote in 2018 The Cut already an article about andwill return to the Broaddus family after the release of the Netflix series. In2019, five years after the Broadduses bought 657 Boulevard, they were finallyable to sell it to a contractor and a family eventually bought the house.Wiedeman tells in a new interview with Vanity Fair that no new letters havearrived at the address and that the police investigation has been completed,without result.

The Broadduses, who have stayed in town, are trying to move on with theirlives.” In 2018, a number of major film and TV producers expressed interest inacquiring the rights to adapt our article and their life story – a horrorproducer offered to buy 657 Boulevard in the hope of using the house as aset,” Wiedeman writes. “The Broadduses had little interest in giving anyonethe right to make some entertainment out of the worst years of their lives.”

After Lifetime the movie The Watcher released in 2016 without the family’sconsent, the Broadduses decided to sell the rights to Netflix and agree toadapt their story. They had two requests: that their name not be used (thefamily on screen is called the Brannocks) and that the family be as close totheir own as possible.

So what do they think about the series being on Netflix now? “I think this wasthe worst experience of their lives, they understand why people are interestedin their story. They don’t have much interest in the attention, publicity orexcitement surrounding the series. For them, it’s still something they want toget rid of — so they can have the fun suburban life they hoped to get whenthey moved into this house — or tried to move in. The Broadduses have not seenthe series. Derek isn’t going to watch it. Seeing the trailer was stressful

In the years that have passed since Loyle Carner’s last album, Not Waving,but Drowning , fired at us, a lot has changed in the life of the Britishrapper. Not only did his world, just like ours, come to a complete standstillfor a while due to the well-known corona pandemic, but he also became a fatherfor the first time. The lockdowns gave him plenty of time to get used to thatnew role, but also to reflect on that same fatherhood and his own identity asa half-white, half-black man in a society that is unfortunately stillcharacterized by racism and injustice. . Carner has never hidden in his musichow difficult he sometimes finds it to navigate the world from his position.His bicultural identity and the lack of a father figure formed both on hisdebut Yesterday ‘s Gone _from 2017 as on that _Not Waving, but Drowning ofprominent themes two years later. In recent years, however, the Londoner hasgained new perspectives, precisely because he suddenly had so much time tothink about it and because he suddenly became the father of a son, and thusalso gathered enough inspiration for a third album.

When that big third hugo was announced, we wondered if Loyle Carner wouldsafely build on the groundwork he had laid with his two previous albums, or ifthe Brit would try something new for once. on both Yesterday ‘s Gone _as on_Not Waving, but Drowning he showed himself from a soft side with laidback,jazzy beats, a slow flow and a touch of melancholy. This was very successfulon its debut, but we already got a bit bored of its brave successor. So wehoped that hugo would give us a reason not to write it off completely.Luckily for us (and for him) we don’t have to, because with hugo LoyleCarner brings not only the best album in his repertoire to date, but also oneof the best records of the year.

What hugo puts it in a different category from its predecessors from thevery first moment, is that the longplayer is characterized by Carner’s fury.Although we sometimes heard this anger hinted on his previous albums, it playson hugo an extremely prominent role. Once the rock-solid album opener “Hate”kicks off, it becomes clear that his anger cannot be ignored. Against asoundtrack of thumping drums and a solid bass, Carner not only expresses hisfears, but especially his anger at the hateful world in which he is constantlyconfronted with his skin color. It may be uncomfortable for white peopleunaffected by racism to listen to Carner’s fierce verbiage, but the fact isthat what he describes in “Hate” is the painful reality for a very, very largenumber of people.

That anger is once again central to the practically perfect “Nobody Knows(Ladas Road)”. It’s not the first song ever in which the rapper explores hismixed heritage and missing a father, but he’s never done it so incrediblydirect as on this one. “I told the black man, he didn’t understand / I reachedthe white man, he wouldn’t take my hand,” Carner said in frustration. “NobodyKnows (Ladas Road)” is an incredibly effective explanation of the complexfeeling of being accepted nowhere by your bicultural identity, and willprobably bring a lot of recognition for everyone who also has such abackground. Carner’s anger also oozes from the intriguing “Blood On My Nikes”,in which he makes short shrift of the political climate in England and theincrease in fatal stabbings among young people. When we hear the youngactivist Athian Akec give a witty speech about those stabbings at the end ofthe song, we get a big lump in our throat.

While we cannot deny that anger plays a very important role in hugo and thatit is a very legitimate emotion, this third Loyle Carner album also shows onceagain that anger is actually always rooted in deep sadness. We hear this, forexample, on the captivating “Speed ​​Of Plight” (which by the way is on theFIFA23 soundtrack) and the mature piano song “Homerton”, on which he isaccompanied by Olivia Dean and JNR WILLIAMS. His grief is most evident on thetearjerkers “A Lasting Place” and “Polyfilla”. Both songs explore the traumaof growing up without a father with a vulnerability we’ve never heard of withLoyle Carner.

Both “A Lasting Place” and “Polyfilla” are accompanied by a jazzy, chill pianothat reminds us of Not Waving, but Drowning. Yet both songs are a lot moremature and introspective than what we heard on that record. The first exploreshis relationship with his mother and how grateful he is for her lovingupbringing. Tears well up in our eyes when the Brit raps: ‘The love is great /To raise the man that you hate / Growing in the man that you make.’ Incontrast, on “Polyfilla,” Carner focuses on the theme of intergenerationaltrauma, where traumas are passed on from one generation to the next. He longsto break the vicious circle with his son, but acknowledges his fear that hewill fail in parenting like his own father. It is a subject that some find itdifficult to identify with. Yet Carner conveys the complex feelings in such afrank and straightforward way that it’s quite easy to understand where hisgrief comes from. The diptych is effortlessly a highlight on the album, whichis a great achievement on a record that consists only of highlights.

Of hugo Loyle Carner not only makes it clear that he’s outdone himself, butthat he’s playing at a completely different level than many of the others whoreleased a record this year. The album __ is a beautifully cohesive work thatexplores the complexities of fatherhood, the influence of childhood trauma anda bicultural identity in an incredibly honest way. Carner delves into theconflicting feelings in his psyche in a way that takes a lot of maturity anddaring, and works his way effortlessly into our hearts and year-end lists.It’s a real lesson in vulnerability, this one hugo and undoubtedly one ofthe most beautiful we heard this year.

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Charlie Watts was a saint, we learn Charlie ‘s Good Tonight. He was modestyitself, bought beautiful gifts for his friends, loved his wife, daughter andgranddaughter deeply, and put aside his love of jazz to become a drummer in afledgling rock band. He always dressed impeccably, didn’t participate in theorgies of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll that the Rolling Stones inflicted ontour, and always organized his socks neatly by color.

Journalist Paul Sexton boasts that over the years he had a lot of access tothe inner circle of the Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger and Keith Richardscollaborated on the authorized biography of Charlie Watts, who died last yearat the age of 80. The book title was taken from a statement by Mick Jaggerduring a performance at New York’s Madison Square Garden on November 28, 1969:”Charlie’s good tonight, ain’t he?”

On January 1, 1963, Charles Robert Watts played his first gig with thefledgling Rolling Stones, who had struggled to persuade him to give up hiswell-paid jobs as a jazz drummer for the precarious band life. Watts washardly familiar with the blues and rock’n’roll in which the Stones wanted tolearn. His heroes were jazz greats like Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington.”Charlie [Watts] swings really nice but he can’t rock,” wrote Keith Richard(then without -s) in the diary he kept when they lived together in thelegendary filthy apartment on London’s Edith Grove.

Later, Richards had to come back to that: precisely because he had roots injazz, the Stones got the most effective drummer a rock band could wish for.Throughout his life, Charlie Watts continued to play on a tiny drum kit, evenas the Rolling Stones rose to become the Greatest Rock’n’Roll Band in theWorld in the 1980s with long strings of stadium appearances. The Who’s PeteTownshend gave Watts the greatest compliment the drummer could wish for in hismemoriam: “The Stones could swing like the band of [Count] Basie.”

Dry humor

Charlie Watts didn’t like to come to the fore. Sexton recounts severalanecdotes about his dry humor. “I give the impression that I’m bored behind mydrum kit,” said Watts in 1964 when the first fame came, “but I’m not. I justhave an incredibly dull face.” Legendary is his statement at the celebrationof 25 years of Stones, which according to Watts had consisted of “five yearsof work and twenty years of hanging out.”

Inevitably, Sexton’s book turns into yet another chronicle of the RollingStones’ more often and better-described adventures, with Watts’ visits to hisSavile Row tailor and his quest for rare books and Civil War paraphernalia notyielding the most exciting stories. . In the mid-1980s, the generallyextremely moderate Charlie went through “a sort of midlife crisis” withalcohol and drugs, but he was soon off the hook. Even the famous story of MickJagger calling him “my drummer” and a furious Charlie allegedly pushing thesinger back into a bowl of salmon salad is toned down. “He didn’t touch me,”Jagger says now. Charlie’s holiness must not be tampered with after his death.

Details

With unnecessary details about the Rolling Stones’ feats of arms – the BiggerBang tour from 2005-2007 grossed $558 million – Charlie Watts’s life storydeserves a better perspective than the endless memories of his goodness thatfriends like Jools Holland dish up here. . The crippled translation doesn’thelp: The “jacketless” band members that manager Andrew Loog Oldham saw playon their first meeting are performed here “bare-chested”. And what the hellare we supposed to do with a passage like “The boy Watts became a teenager inJuly 1954, when Doris Day screamed from the highest hills and told the goldendaffodils of her ‘Secret Love’”? The translation of Doris Days lyrics abouthighest hills and golden daffodils is counterproductive here.

Gentleman rocker and history freak Charlie Watts once stated that he wouldrather have been born in 1810. He didn’t have a cell phone. Keith Richardscommunicated with him by fax. When the drummer of the cover band The Rollin’Clones had taken the plunge and sent his great role model an invitation forhis birthday, he received a handwritten letter back: “Thank you, I would liketo come but I already have a family obligation. Sincerely, Charlie Watts,drummer of the Rolling Stones.”

Fallout over Kanye West’s controversial and anti-Semitic comments continues.Balenciaga, the French fashion house that’s had a long-standing relationshipwith West and his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, announced it’s severed ties withthe rapper.

“Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projectsrelated to this artist,” its parent company Kering told WWD in a statement. Itdid not elaborate further. Earlier this month, West walked the runway forBalenciaga’s 2023 Paris Fashion Week show — just one day before the Grammywinner’s “White Lives Matter” stunt at his own Yeezy presentation.

West immediately faced backlash after the show. In subsequent interviews,including one with Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson, he remained defiantwhile also spewing antisemitic rhetoric as part of his defense. Balenciaga isthe first major company to end its relationship with West. In an op-ed for_Financial Times_ , Ari Emanuel specifically called out Apple and Spotifynot to do business with West.

“West is not just any person — he is a pop culture icon with millions of fansaround the world,” the powerful Hollywood agent wrote. “And among them areyoung people whose views are still being formed. This is why it is necessaryfor all of us to speak out. Hatred and antisemitism should have no place inour society, no matter how much money is at stake.”

Emanuel praised his clients, LeBron James and Maverick Carter, for not airingWest’s interview on the the shop, which purportedly contained dangerousrhetoric.

“Those who continue to do business with West are giving his misguided hate anaudience,” the Endeavor CEO added. “There should be no tolerance anywhere forWest’s antisemitism. This is a moment in history where the stakes are high andbeing open about our values, and living them, is essential. Silence andinaction are not an option.”

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Practically no public figures have come to West’s defense, but Trevor Noahoffered a different take on the situation. The “Runaway” rapper has frequentlybashed The Daily Show host, even calling Noah a racial slur earlier thisyear, but Noah made clear there is no “beef” with West as that has to be two-sided.

“I was never beefing with Kanye West, I was concerned about Kanye West,” Noahrecently said while filming his show. The comedian called out publications forgiving West an outlet while he may be dealing with mental health issues.

“If somebody says to me, or to anyone, that they have a mental health issue,and they say to everyone that when they don’t take their medication, they’reunable to control themselves and then everyone ignores when that person ishaving an episode and they haven’t taken their medication, and then theyplatform the person and then they put them out.

“My grandfather was bipolar, and one thing we knew in the family was — and I’mnot saying Kanye is, by the way — I’m just saying my grandfather was,” Noahadded. “When he was having one of his episodes, he could act in a certain way…but our job was to support him.”

After a string of controversial outbursts in 2018, West revealed he wasbipolar. He hasn’t spoken much about the diagnosis since. The rapper hasslammed anyone who tries to relate his public statements to his mental health.

“I don’t have beef with that human being. What I have beef with is us as asociety not coming together around a person and going like, hey, hey, hey,maybe this is not the moment to put a microphone in your face, so you just gooff saying everything,” Noah added. “If this is what you want to say whenyou’re on your medication, then that’s a different story, but because you’vetold us that, I’m not gonna sit by.”

West is in hot water legally for what he’s been saying, too. George Floyd’sdaughter will be suing the rapper for comments he made questioning Floyd’scause of death.

MORE: Kanye West facing $250M lawsuit by George Floyd ‘s daughter forfentanyl comment

It’s up to successor from next week Secret Duets to do better.

Wrong But Gold

In recent years it seemed as if everything Chantal Janzen touched turned intogold, but those times are officially over. The program Fout Maar Goud, whichwas announced in advance, started this first season with 815,000 viewers.Great score, you might say. But holding on to that number was out of thequestion. Yesterday the program managed to attract ‘only’ 547,000 people. Itwas not the lowest point: that was 393,000 on the evening of the GoudenTelevizier-Ring.

Rene le Blanc ? maybe really nice. But the man is still a mystery guest> here. But Cindy pielstroom can join in.> #errorbutgold>> — Angel 45 (@Angel4565137402) October 20,> 2022

Watching for the first time (and probably the last)> #errorbutgold.> I can only say that Gerard Joling is trying to make it clear in a childish> way that he can’t stand his loss. While he is winning?>> — Harm (@hetisHarm) October 20,> 2022

Wonderful program…we don’t know anything about the questions either??? top> tv top> #chantaljansen> #errorbutgold> pic.twitter.com/Ld23xQrDQr>> — eagon kortenschijl (@xxxeagon) October 20,> 2022

Chantal Janzen likes to go back in time, with a new program full of> nostalgic fragments. This program is nostalgic, but fun…?> #errorbutgold> #chantaljanzen> #rtl4>> — Yoshi (@Yoshismeaning) October 20,> 2022

Kamp of Koningsbrugge Special Edition

So on this Thursday evening, most people didn’t watch RTL4, but… NPO1. Thatchannel mainly got the viewers with the NOS News from 8 p.m. (1.7 million),EenVandaag (1.1 million) and Kamp van Koningsbrugge Special Edition (1million). Remarkably enough, the latter did not produce anger this time, buttears. Almost all viewers sympathized with Natasja Gibbs who – despite herenormous perseverance – was advised to surrender. Physically she just couldn’tkeep up, no matter how much she wanted to.

Again a compliment and a big hug to Natasja Gibbs. > What a beautiful conversation in which she shows herself vulnerable and> candid. > Ever since she was a little girl, she had been against the wind and was> belittled rather than stimulated and now she finds herself….> #kampvankoningsbrugge> pic.twitter.com/aXxu0zSBVS>> — Elsschot ??????? (@marcelbar8) October 20,> 2022

Natasha’s story gives me goosebumps. Her past is so deep and so in her way.> #Kampvankoningsbrugge>> — TV viewer (@mytvview) October 20,> 2022

You notice the difference between Edino and Natascha. Edino has already> managed to convert his pain and sadness into strength through therapy and> such Natascha has not yet processed it> #kampvankoningsbrugge>> — I’m fictional (@I’m fictional) October 20,> 2022

Can we have a round of applause for Natasha and this beautiful conversation?> #Kampvankoningsbrugge> pic.twitter.com/EOJle1Jxt8>> — Cindy (@CDijkje1) October 20,> 2022

The Stir

Despite the disappointing viewing figures of RTL, it went a little worse onprime time last night on SBS6. The normally popular program Het stir managedto attract only 504,000 viewers. All hope was not lost yet: Today Inside(717,000) and Heart of the Netherlands (553,000) managed to straightenthings out reasonably well later in the evening.

John Mayer “Would’ve, Could’ve, Shouldve” predicted he’d be trending after therelease of Taylor Swift’s midnights.

Swift’s 10th studio album has dropped and fans are certain she has a new “DearJohn” song. on the Midnights (3am Edition) there’s a track 19, which theinternet believes is about Mayer, who Swift briefly dated when she was, yes,19.

Swift sings about being 19 and in a relationship with a poisonous “grown man”— Mayer was 32 at the time — who later dismissed her as “a child.” She saidshe “danced with the devil” and called him “a crisis of my faith.” She said hemade her “feel important,” but then he __ “tried to erase us.”

It still gets under skin her, she sings: “I regret you all the time” and “Ifight with you in my sleep,” adding, “Living for the thrill of hitting youwhere it hurts.” And, perhaps the most scathing line, “Give me me back mygirlhood, it was mine first.” (See the full lyrics via Genius.)

Twitter has been on fire since the song dropped. One person wrote, “John Mayerwas sleeping peacefully but was awoken at 3am with a chill down his spine.”

Here are some others:

Swift’s previous song “Dear John” on speak now, wash a __ not-so-subtlebreakup anthem about the “Your Body Is a Wonderland” singer. The pair dated in2009 after collaborating on his song “Half of My Heart,” but things had souredby early 2010. When Speak Now was released in October of that year, shesang: “Dear John, I see it all, now it was wrong,” she sang at the time,”Don’t you think 19 is too young / To be played by your dark twisted games,when I loved you so? … Maybe it’s you and your sick need to give love thentake it away / And you’ll add my name to your long list of traitors who don’tunderstand / And I’ll look back and regret how I ignored when they said ‘runas fast as you can… All the girls that you’ve run dry have tired lifeless eyes/’Cause you burned them out.”

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Mayer later said he felt “terrible” about the song, but added that it was a”lousy thing [for Swift] to do. I never got an email. I never got a phonecall. I was really caught off guard.” He also called it “cheap songwriting.”Nevertheless, the next year she was reportedly behind his 2013 song “PaperDoll” which basically pulled “you’re just a crazy lady” card. He sang, “You’relike 22 girls in one. And none of them know what they’re running from. Was itjust too far to fall for a little paper doll?”

Mayer’s dating reputation preceded him in that era. He was linked to JenniferLove Hewitt, Minka Kelly, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Aniston and, later, KatyPerry. His boonish behavior was well-documented. (See: Simpson’s book.Flashback to: Him having an impromptu sidewalk press conference after breakingup with Aniston.) In 2016, he admitted that he got “caught up” in hiscelebrity and said there was a “humility in knowing that you’ re not popularto the point where people are following you around anymore.”

Last year, when Swift re-released red, including an extended version of “AllToo Well,” which was thought to be about her ex Jake Gyllenhaal, bothGyllenhaal and Mayer faced backlash from Swifties over the resurfacednarrative of a woman (aka Swift) being wronged. Mayer responded to hatefulmessages, including death threats on social media.

None of that kept Swift up at night. Around the time, she told Seth Meyers shedidn’t care much about how her exes feel about being mentioned in her songs,saying, “I haven’t thought about their experience, to be honest.”

midnights , out now chronicles Swift’s “journey through terrors and sweetdreams” and “13 sleepless nights” of her life. There are actually 20 tracks intotal on the extended album. On the album she does also sing about love,specifically her six-year romance with actor Joe Alwyn, which she keeps out ofthe spotlight. In “Lavender Haze” she sings about rumors about them: “I’mdamned if I do give a damn what people say/ the 1950s s*** they want from me/I just wanna stay in that lavender haze. All they keep asking me is if I’mgonna be your bride/ the only kinda girl they see is a one night or a wife.”

When is the year’s biggest big-screen comedy also its most successful horrormovie? When that movie is Three Men and a Baby the unlikely ’80s blockbusterdirected by Leonard Nimoy and starring an avengers -style team-up of threeof the decade’s most eligible leading men: Tom Selleck, Ted Danson and SteveGuttenberg. Premiering in theaters on Nov. 25, 1987, the PG-rated familypicture grossed nearly $170 million at the domestic box office, making it thatyear’s top earner over such era-defining adult hits as Fatal Attraction __and Good Morning, Vietnam.

In the 35 years since its release, though, Three Men and a Baby has enjoyedan even more successful afterlife as the subject of a spooky urban legend thatrefuses to die. Starting in the early ’90s, rumors circulated that Nimoy andhis crew inadvertently captured an actual haunting on camera. The evidence?Viewers noted that a ghostly figure appears in the background of one scene,peering out from behind the curtains at Danson and his co-star Celeste Holm.This ghost eventually acquired a spooky backstory — one that involves a9-year-boy who supposedly killed himself in the house where the movie wasfilmed, and his spirit lingered behind to haunt the place.

Ted Danson, Tom Selleck and Steve Guttenberg in Three Men and a Baby.(Photo: ©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)

That macabre off-camera narrative definitely doesn’t match Three Men and aBaby ‘s gentle on camera tone. An English-language remake of the 1985 Frenchcomedy Three Men and a Cradle , the movie casts its leading men as a trio ofunrepentant bachelors — studly architect Peter (Selleck), heartthrob actorJack (Danson) and charming comedian Michael (Guttenberg) — who are happilyleading the swinging single life in the same Manhattan apartment. Imagine Joeyand Chandler without the caffeine addiction and penchant for animal roommates.

But these friends’s good times come to a screeching halt when they find a babygirl named Mary on their doorstep. It turns out that she’s the result ofJack’s hook-up with another performer, Sylvia (Nancy Travis), who expects himto take some accountability. After surviving a crash course in infant care —and a very ’80s subplot involving dangerous drug dealers — they morph fromsingle guys into single dads. Single dads who are also able to perfectlyharmonize on standards like “Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite.”

Story continues

Three years after Baby hit a box-office home run, Selleck, Danson and> Guttenberg re-teamed for 1990’s Three Men and a Little Lady , which proved> to be more of a solid double financially. (Nimoy didn’t return behind the> camera for the second chapter, replaced by Dirty Dancing helmer Emile> Ardolino.) But the sequel did goose the video rental numbers for its> predecessor, and the ability to rewind and freeze-frame VHS tapes is what> brought the ghost child to wider attention. Playing back the scene with> Danson and Holm — who has a small role as Jack’s mother in the film —> viewers at home were able to take their time to spot the figure whose> presence just barely registered in the theater.

News spread slowly in the pre-internet era, but this particular urban legendproved sticky enough to find its way into local newspapers and, eventually,the Dec. 24, 1990 issue of people magazine. That article outlined the ever-evolving details about the child’s supposed life and death, reporting rumorsthat he spent his short lifetime in the house that doubled as the centralbachelor pad.

That room was also where the nine-year-old apparently killed himself — with> the very gun that some eagle-eyed viewers reported seeing next to him in the> curtains. There were even those who claimed they remembered seeing the boy’s> mother making the talk-show rounds after spotting her dead son in the movie.

The dawn of the YouTube age roughly a decade later resurrected the Three Menand a Baby equipment all over again. The platform hosts dozens of ghost-spotting videos, and annotated screen grabs are all over paranormal websitesas well. Nimoy’s film is a mainstay in the library of Hollywood titles thatare believed to have some kind of haunting in them — a list that includes TheWizard of Ozs hanging Munchkin and _Ben-Hur ‘s _dead stunt man.

the Star Trek icon passed away in 2015, and never publicly addressed theghost story during his lifetime. Reached for comment, his daughter, JulieNimoy, indicated that he didn’t discuss it with his family either. “My onlymemory is that my dad loved working on the film and that is was such awonderful experience,” she tells Yahoo Entertainment via email. “Not onlybecause it was extremely successful at the box office, but working with Ted,Tom and Steve was such a pleasure. It was definitely his favorite film and theone he was most proud of.”

Leonard Nimoy and Steve Guttenberg on the set of Three Men and a Baby.(Photo: ©Touchstone Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Out of the main cast, it was Selleck who finally went on the record during a2017 appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show during which theyacknowledged the movie’s 30th anniversary. the Blue Bloods star first blewthe host’s mind by revealing that the pee stains on the shirt he wears in themovie’s poster were authentic infant urine. “Annie Leibovitz took the picture…and the baby pees all over me. She said, ‘Don’t change, don’t change!’ Shejust keeps taking pictures. So it’s actually for once in my life a genuineexpression.”

That gave Fallon the opening to address the ghost in the room, asking hisguest directly to comment on the urban legend. “This was a big deal for videosales,” Selleck remembered. “Maybe Disney made it up! The story was this kiddied in the house where we shot the movie — this little boy. I saw it and itlooks a little spooky.”

But the actor also debunked one of the main tenets of the ghost story: namelythat they filmed the movie in an actual house. “We shot on a soundstage. Theybuilt the set and all.” (While set in New York, the bulk of Three Men and aBaby was filmed in Toronto.)

As for the identity of that ghostly figure… well, that was solved back in> 1990. people magazine spoke with Touchstone Home Video spokesperson Steve> Feldstein, who explained that the the “ghost” was actually a cardboard> cutout of Danson in a top hat and tails that represents another memento from> Jack’s acting career. “He played a vain actor who had posters of himself all> over the room,” Selleck recalled on The Tonight Show. “I thought it was> always a full-sized poster that had been knocked over. That was my theory.”

Feldstein’s explanation was backed up by the movie’s co-producer Robert Cort.”I think someone just left it there,” Cort said of how the cutout found itsway onscreen in Danson and Holm’s scene. You can spot the cutout towards theend of the movie when Sylvia shows up to reclaim Mary. Instead of hidingbehind the curtains, Danson’s cardboard self is in full view.

The Danson cutout that supposedly solves the ghost story in Three Men and aBaby. (Photo: Touchstone/YouTube)

At the same time, that later scene ends up confirming the urban legend forthe paranormally inclined. As ghost boy advocates have argued over the years,the Danson cutout looks significantly different from the more boyish figurewho appears over Holm’s shoulder. Feldstein tried to head that theory off atthe pass back in 1990, count people : “An odd camera angle makes it looklike a kid in suspenders.”

Not for nothing, but in his Tonight Show appearance, Selleck appeared tojoin Team Ghost Boy when he saw the two images side-by-side. “I believe that’sa ghost!” he told Fallon after studying the pictures. “I think it is ghostboy. And, actually, I’m going to call Ted and Steve, because I think weparticipated in the video sales. It’s a ghost!”

A closer look at the ghost in Three Men and a Baby. (Photo:Touchstone/YouTube)

Selleck also revealed that, at one point, Disney was mulling a Father of theBride -esque third installment in the franchise that would have reunitedJack, Peter and Michael to give away Mary on her wedding day. The title?Three Men and a Bride , of course. “I thought it was a great idea, butnobody’s called and nobody’s written,” Selleck said five years ago.

Then again, with both Three Men movies now streaming on Disney+ it’spossible that the Mouse House could revive the series as a streaming event inthe same way they’ve resurrected Hocus Pocus __ and Sister Act. But thewedding pitch would obviously have to be tweaked to incorporate thefranchise’s spectral superstar. “I think it would be expected to have somesupernatural element,” Selleck admitted.

Hear us out, Disney. How about… Three Men and a Corpse Bride?

Three Men and a Baby is currently streaming on Disney+.

Film director Rodrigo Sorogoyen was especially intrigued by the missing man’s wife, Margo Pool, who decided to stay despite the dangers lurking. In thispsychological thriller, Martin ‘el holandés’ is replaced by Antoine ‘elfrancés’ magnificently played by Denis Ménochet. Like the Dutch, he and hiswife Olga have started an ecological farm in the mountains in Galicia, wherelife is hard. The villagers hope to get out of poverty by having windmillsplaced near the village, but Antoine refuses to participate. That angers hisneighbors, two brothers and their old mother. The glossy Spain magazineESPANJE! wrote a review. The trailer can be seen at the bottom of thisarticle.

The atmosphere becomes increasingly grim and Antoine – just like Martin did -films everything to go to the police. But then one day he doesn’t come backfrom a walk. Despite the fear, Olga (a beautiful understated role by MarinaFoïs) decides to continue the farm and just face the neighbors she fears.Meanwhile, she finds out what happened to her husband. A wonderful film foranyone who wants to get to know the other Spain, with beautiful images of thegreen countryside, in which you hear not only Spanish but also Galicianspoken.

NICE! subscribe now __on SPAIN! which publishes a 100-page glossy magazinefour times a year. In front of only €24.95 you get a €10 discount(normally €34.95) for the current edition and the four upcoming editions.CLICK HERE __and sign up to get ESPANJE right away! to read (also nice asa gift of course).

The real story

The mysterious disappearance of Martin Verfondern previously inspired twoAmerican filmmakers to make the documentary Santoalla (see trailer at thebottom of this article). This was shown at the International Documentary FilmFestival Amsterdam in 2016 and was also shown in the theater in O Barco deValdeorras, the village where the Dutchman was last seen alive while shopping.

It’s a mind-boggling documentary in which Margo Pool and her neighbors tellwhat happened in real life. We see in archive footage how happy Martin was atfirst in the village and how he grew increasingly suspicious. Although the twostories are very similar, there are differences and the ending is alsodifferent. So this is not a spoiler. In the real story, the culprits wereeventually caught and brought to justice. In late 2014, his neighbors, the twobrothers Julio (then 51) and Juan Carlos (then 47) Rodríguez González,confessed that they had murdered Martin in early 2010. In 2018, only thementally challenged Juan Carlos was finally sentenced to 10 years in prison.

According to the judge, it has been established that he fired a shot at Martinwho was behind the wheel on January 19, 2010. The Dutchman would have diedinstantly. His brother Julio would then have helped him to burn the body 18.5kilometers away in a difficult forest area. Meanwhile, the brothers stilllived together in the village with Margo Pool, Verfondern’s widow, whomiraculously didn’t think twice about moving. “Juan Carlos has the mind of aten-year-old. I don’t think you can blame him for this,’ she told deVolkskrant in 2014. “As for Julio, I can understand why he tried to protecthis mentally handicapped brother. I probably would have done that,’ said Pool.

Quarrel over money for logging

According to the Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office, the murder was the resultof the disturbed relationship between Verfondern and his wife Margo and theRodríguez family. The two brothers and their parents were the only residentsof Santoalla until the arrival of the Dutch to the village in 1997. The firstyears they had a good relationship, but according to the justice system thatchanged when Verfondern claimed his share of income from the sale of wood fromthe surrounding forests. The forest company gave the villagers an annualfinancial compensation. Until then, it went to the Rodríguez family becausethey were the only residents. Pool and Verfondern therefore took theirneighbors to court. The case eventually ended up in the Spanish Supreme Court.This confirmed the ruling of a lower court at the end of 2009 that theVerfonderns, as villagers, were entitled to their share of the financialcompensation for the timber sale.

A bullet for ‘speeding’

The German naturalized Dutchman Martin Verfondern and his Dutch wife MargoPool moved to Santoalla because they wanted to lead a different life. Theystarted an organic farm there under the name Centro Ammehula where they taughtbackpackers how to farm organically. Martin was shot and killed on January 19,2010 after he had done his weekly shopping with his all-terrain vehicle. Margowas in the Netherlands at the time. According to justice, the mentallyretarded brother waited for the Dutchman at the entrance of the hamlet andshot him dead with a shotgun from less than a meter away. His burnt-out off-road vehicle was accidentally discovered in June 2014 in a forest in A Veigain the commune of Ourense during a forest fire check by helicopter.Verfondern’s remains were found three days later about 100 meters from hiscar. Traces soon led police to the Rodríguez brothers. The prime suspect JuanCarlos, who was arrested at the end of 2014, confessed to having shot hisneighbor ‘because he always drove like crazy’.

Las Bestias can be seen in Dutch cinemas from 20 October. The glossy Spainmagazine ESPANJE! may raffle 3 x 2 tickets among the readers. If you want totake a chance on that, look HERE __on the website of ESPANJE!

SPAIN! __Travel and culture magazine is the Dutch-language glossy aboutSpain and the Spanish-speaking world that appears four times a year in theNetherlands and Belgium. SPAIN! __is a high-quality journalism magazinewith inspiring travel reports, beautiful interviews, fascinating columns,delicious recipes and hundreds of tips for lovers of Spain. Read moreinformation on the website espanje.nl __

After the finale of the first season, the baptism of fire of The Rings ofPower past. How did the prequel to The Lord of the Rings passed theinitiation tests? Our final verdict after season 1. “The engine of adilapidated Lada in a Ferrari.”

We have organized our final verdict into two points of pain and two points ofhope.

*This article may contain spoilers

Ever since the last film in the trilogy first hit theaters in 2003, we’ve beeneagerly awaiting a new The Lord of the Rings project. The expectations for_The Rings of Power_ were therefore tense after a waiting period of twodecades. For the time being, however, the Amazon series does not manage tokeep the viewer’s tension taut for long.

We have uncovered three major pain points that could be the cause of this.But, we also offer light in the darkness with two hopeful closings.

Two pain points of The Rings of Power

Now that the curtain has fallen on the first season and all the monkeys havebeen completely shaken up, the time has come to pass judgment on The Rings ofPower. And to our regret, we are not tender.

1. Most expensive series ever

As we reported earlier, the most expensive series ever. This is largely dueto the astronomical price tag that Tolkien’s descendants placed on theintellectual rights of the books.

But why did Amazon pay $250 million for the Tolkien story and then chop it allup, throw it in a pot, and hope the soup takes hold? There’s a reason thoserights are so expensive. Tolkien’s epic has encompassed the imagination ofgenerations young and old for more than half a century and is – notunimportantly – a tried and true cash cow. It’s a nearly perfect story(except for those giant birds that rescue Sam and Frodo). In order to be ableto cast it in a cinematic form, it makes sense that the writers of The Ringsof Power have had to make creative decisions that would have made Tolkienpurists always shudder.

But this is no longer ‘tinkering with the story’. No, this is dishonoring theBible among fantasy books. You don’t buy a Ferrari and put the engine of adilapidated Lada in it, do you?

Bronwyn makes a soup out of it. (Image:Amazon Prime)

There’s a reason those rights are so expensive. Tolkien’s epic has captivatedthe imagination of generations young and old for more than half a century andis – not unimportantly – a tried and tested cash cow. In addition, it is analmost perfect story, where no plot hole can be pierced.

Well, perfectly. Except for those giant birds that Sam and Frodo suddenly cometo rescue. Although Tolkien has (not) an explanation for that.

To tell the story of The Rings of Power To be able to cast it into cinematicform, it makes sense that the series’ writers had to make creative decisionsthat Tolkien purists would have always shuddered at. But this is no longer’tinkering with the story’. No, this is dishonoring the Bible among fantasybooks. You don’t buy a Ferrari and put the engine of a dilapidated Lada in it,do you?

2. Cringe-inducing Disney movie

If you take so many liberties with an almost untouchable original, then theplot must really work like clockwork. Unfortunately, the hands of The Ringsof Power not always on point. The series’ rippling pace flows too often fromone sleep-inducing scene to the next.

Me enjoying all the emotional moments with the Harfoots, Elendil, Berek,> Durin, Elrond, Galadriel, Theo, Bronwyn, and Arondir and ignoring the things> that didn’t work that the some in the fandom are currently having a meltdown> over> #RingsofPower> #TheRingsOfPower> pic.twitter.com/BKih4trMzQ>> — Fabi (@Miss_Fabi_hola) October 7,> 2022

The storyline of Arondir, (but mostly) Theo and Bronwyn feels like a cheap,toe-curling Disney movie and every Harfoot on screen is one too many. Disposeof.

Two Points of Hope

It’s not all doom and gloom in Middle-earth. What can disappointed viewersdraw on?

1. Weight loss = no loss of face

Trim the fat and you’ll be fine. There are plenty of intriguing charactersthat The Rings of Power can build on in the future. Elrond and Durincertainly haven’t seen each other for the last time. And it will also beinteresting to watch how Galadriel’s character develops after she has one ofthe rings on her finger for a while.

2. Eagle Eye

Our greatest hope is that the writers have written the first season with aneagle eye. By that we mean with a complete vision of all five seasons in mind,even before a speck of ink was wasted.

It could be that everything has yet to erupt and that afterwards it turns outthat the plot of The Rings of Power is not attached to each other by snags.Then we might speak a different language next season.

The Criticism You Can Forget

And then there was that ridiculous discussion.

Xenophobia about The Rings of Power

The Rings of Power was hit hard from the masses in the beginning byxenophobic trolls who bombed the series with bad reviews.

Arondir, a character who has beencriticized a lot (Image: Amazon Prime Video)

Different skin color? Come on. The power of a series does not lie on the(skin) surface, but deep below. At the heart and soul of the story. Hopefullywe will get rid of that whining next season.