Month: November 2022

Out and aboutDEN BOSCH/VEGHEL/OSS/LITHOIJEN/SCHIJNDEL/TILBURG – Every weekfive titillating activities in your region that you don’t want to miss.

Thomas Olde Heuvelt signs at Adr. Heinen in Den Bosch. © rv

Thomas Olde Heuvelt signs his latest book

It is his darkest story ever… Thriller writer Thomas Olde Heuvelt signs hislatest book November at Bookstore Adr. Heinen in Den Bosch and at bookstoreDeRijks in Oss. This thriller is a modern version of a Faustian pact with thedevil as only Thomas Olde Heuvelt can write it down. The ideal book for thedark days. November 24 Adr. Heinen December 7 DeRijks

Shirma Rouse is in the Blue Boulder. Photo: ArjoFrank Photography / BrunoPress© Brunopress

The Dutch Queen of Soul

She is also called the Dutch Queen of Soul. Shirma Rouse takes the audience onher new show Hope and Love along on her journey. From the 19-year-old womanwho came to the Netherlands alone to the star she is today. An intimateevening full of singing, short stories and swinging music. And of course hermusical heroine Aretha Franklin also passes by. November 18 The Blue Kei Veghel

Shut up and play with me, Het Zuidelijk Toneel. © Sophie Knijff

For anyone who has ever played

Playing, everyone can do it, but few do. What if we dare to let go of thebrakes completely and plunge into a limitless game? Sarha Moeremans andJoachim Robbrecht bring in the performance Shut Up and Play with Me an odeto the playing man. The premiere of this performance can be seen in De NieuweVorst in Tilburg. November 26 The New Frost

Tribute Legends, Schijndel. Photo: Joris Bisschops © Joris Bisschops

Musical heroes come very close

Enjoy live music from Queen, AC/DC, Muse, Coldplay and U2 in Schijndel? Youcan do that during Tribute Legends XL in riding school De Molenheide. Thebest tribute bands play well-known hits by their musical heroes. Getting muchcloser to the original than through these bands is almost impossible. Thereare three different stages where 15 bands will perform. November 26 riding school De Molenheide

Hans Vanhorck, ‘Beyond nature XI’ © Gallery Sous Terre

Jubilee exhibition Hans Vanhorck

It is almost 25 years ago that the Sous-Terre gallery took Hans Vanhorck’spaintings to America to exhibit them at art fairs. At that time, Hans wasalready one of the gallery’s most important artists and he still is. Time foran anniversary exhibition in which not only the 25-year collaboration iscelebrated, but also the 70th birthday of the artist. From November 20 to January 15 Galerie Sous-Terre

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There’s a revolution happening in Hollywood, and Zahn McClarnon is at theforefront. The Hunkpapa Lakota actor, who has starred in television hitsincluding Westworld and reservation dogs recently finished his firstseason of yet another popular series, Dark Winds where he is not only thestar but also the executive producer.

To say that McClarnon is changing the narrative of onscreen Nativerepresentation would be an understatement.

“I think we’re in a pretty unique time right now for representation, andpeople are finally hearing our stories,” McClarnon says during an interviewfor Yahoo’s . “We have our own storytellers, and we’re writing our ownstories, and we have our own directors and we’re getting showrunners andproducers now. So there’s been quite a big turn in Native representation in TVand film in the last few years.”

When it comes to Indigenous representation on the big and small screens, thenumbers have been particularly stark. In fact, for film, Native people remainunderrepresented, landing less than 1% of the share of top roles, as well asdirector and writer positions, according to UCLA’s 2022 , which covered thetop 200 films released theatrically and on major streamers in 2021 .

For TV, the numbers are only slightly higher. Native representation grew fromthe previous year and accounted for 2% of broadcast scripted roles, but lessthan 1% on cable and digital, , which covered the 2020-21 season.

That makes McClarnon’s work on Dark Winds especially meaningful. The56-year-old actor/producer stars as Joe Leaphorn, a Navajo detective solvingcrimes on the Navajo Nation. While the show is based on novels written by non-Native author Tony Hillerman, McClarnon, as an executive producer, insisted oncasting Native actors as well as writers, directors and crew.

“What we’re doing and trying to do is bring in Native writers to come at itfrom a bit of a different perspective, more from a Native perspective,”McClarnon says.

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That means centering the Native storylines and even using the Navajo languagein the script.

After all, shining a spotlight on the Native perspective comes after years ofharmful onscreen stereotypes and even erasure. That’s something McClarnon isworking to combat.

“We grew up with these stereotypes and these tropes about Native Americans,”he says, “and the public is learning that we’re not all on horseback andyipping and yelling in buckskin, and that we’re human beings, that we’ rethree-dimensional characters.”

McClarnon himself has shown that multi-dimensional range through hischaracters. While his tribal police role on reservation dogs leans moretoward laughs, his Dark Winds detective and sci-fi role as Akecheta on_Westworld_ have more gravitas.

All of that goes to show why the actor-producer says that “telling our ownstories” is crucial. That, and more representation in the boardroom, too.

“Getting more people at the studio level and more producers is the nexthurdle,” he adds. “And the more we get Native representation in thesepositions, the better off we’re gonna be.”

The tide seems to be turning, as Dark Winds has been renewed for a secondseason and Reservation Dogs, from Indigenous co-creators Taika Waititi andSterlin Harjo (Seminole/Muscogee), for a third. Not only that, but the Native-centered predator prequel, Prey delivered .

With so many recent successes, what does McClarnon hope the future looks likefor Native representation in Hollywood?

“What I hope it looks like is that we just have more storytellers, morewriters, more doors opening up for people in front of the camera and behindthe camera as well,” he says. “And I hope that shows like Dark Winds and_reservation dogs_ and Rutherford Falls and the other shows that are in pre-production are gonna be produced, are gonna just open and crack those doorseven wider for future talent.”

Ominous title though, Netherlands under water from Avrotros. Was this afuture vision of how we will be when the sea swallows us? By no means. It wasa “dive into our unprecedented nature”. A nature documentary about what ishappening below the current sea level and fresh waters of the Netherlands.Directed by Arthur de Bruin and glowingly voiced by actor Gijs Scholten vanAschat. With his voice, the two-year journey of one transparent young eelacross the pitch-black ocean on its way to the Dutch coast becomes… well,lively.

There are people who play a crackling fire on their TV screen, or an aquarium.Slower than slow TV, probably very soothing, but it won’t make you much wiser.Netherlands under water is an audio and picture book in one. So rare closewhen you get to the mayfly larvae, the tickle midge, the spotted Americancrayfish. You’ll learn how a river lamprey queue forms, and see how these”rare and ancient” fish become entangled in a slippery vortex below thewater’s surface. The cormorants know that unfortunate swimming route and licktheir lips awaiting the pile-up.

Calamities

From the underwater world to the underworld above water where _112 Today_informs us every working day about calamities and emergencies that haveoccurred in the past 24 hours. And oh, how many questions I have about that.What determines the editor’s choice? The seriousness of the accident, theoddity, the seriousness expressed in terms of injuries or deaths? Or does itjust depend on whether images are available? And how do they get those images?From bystanders? Disaster reporters?

Last week I saw passing by: a car that ended up in a backyard. A dentiststabbed by a patient with a knife. A Marktplaats sale that got out of handwith a stab in the neck, a thud at a supermarket. And of course various fatalor non-fatal traffic incidents. Sometimes a reporter is on site afterwards tofind that the garden gate is indeed halfway up the car and the door of thesupermarket is shattered. From the stab wound to the neck, some drops of bloodcould still be seen on the garden tiles of the house where the injured man hadcalled for help.

Local residents are always willing to comment. In all cases, they say: thatthey were very shocked, that the bang/explosion was deafening and oftenfollowed by a sentence of cultural pessimism about the changed times in whichwe live and no, they have no idea what exactly happened and why.

A 112 expert is present in the studio to recount the police press release. Ifyou’re lucky, Ellie Lust will be the interpreter. The former police spokesmanhas taken off her uniform, but kept the jargon. With her it is never aboutcars but about vehicles, the emergency services are always on site andsuspects are transferred to cell complexes and with undisguised glee she cansay that the police dog “had to lend a hand” in catching the suspect.

Bystanders

All well and good, but what purpose does this serve? Other people’s sufferingfor education and entertainment? The disadvantage of calamities, incidents andemergencies is that there is usually a victim. Well, I was hit by a police busonce in my life, when I was ten. I don’t know much about that, but one thing Ido know. That, lying on the tram rails, I heard bystanders speculating whetherI was still alive or not. What I’m saying is that this program is definitelynot made for the victims. For whom? That will be the bystanders, safe at home

“Jews Don’t Count,” a new documentary from British writer and comedian DavidBaddiel set to air on UK broadcaster Channel 4 next week, is an examination ofhow, particularly in progressive circles, there is a persistent sense thatJews aren’t entitled to the same protection and support as other minoritycommunities. That sense is predicated on the antisemitic belief that all Jewsare rich, successful and “dominate” industries such as Hollywood, if not thevery world order.

It’s symbolic of the catch-22 at the heart of the film that the succession ofJewish celebrities who appear within it to talk about their experiences ofantisemitism, such as David Schwimmer, Sarah Silverman, Stephen Fry andJonathan Safran Foer, may well end up further convincing antisemites that thevery premise of the documentary is unfounded.

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Baddiel, a comedian and writer, acknowledged that predicament at a pressscreening in London on Wednesday although he was ultimately sanguine about it.“I want [the documentary] not to just be seen by Jews,” he explained. “Onevery simple way of doing that, hopefully, is to have big names in it. It’s apragmatic decision.”

Despite the starry guest list, when variety asked whether there were anyJewish public figures who had declined to appear in the film, Baddiel replied“quite a lot.” Out of respect for their privacy, he didn’t reveal their namesbut said the list included “some quite prominent Jews who don’t want to bringtheir Jewishness to the fore and just don’t want to talk about this.”

“This” being the uncomfortable but important discussion about how anti-Semitism presents in the modern day. On the right, it has remained largelyunchanged from the time of the Nazi Party in Europe and the Ku Klux Klan inthe US But in recent years antisemitism has also, to the surprise of many (notleast Jews themselves), sprung up on the left and it’s here, as Baddieldemonstrates in the documentary, that it takes a more insidious form, firstlyby shrouding itself in terms that, while not explicitly discriminatory, serveto exclude Jews alone from supposedly inclusive spaces, and secondly bydeclining to engage when Jews are subject to the kind of treatment that wouldarouse outrage on behalf of other groups (for example, inauthentic casting).

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“Particularly over the last 20 years, with social media and all the rest ofit, I think there’s been an incredible focus on trying to right wrongs, a lotof which has been good,” Baddiel said during the Q&A. “But some of which hasbeen performative. And I think within the performative space, [in which]people [are] trying to make it clear that they are allies in a way that ismore about their sense of self than about actual allyship, Jews have nocurrency for them.”

The documentary is based on Baddiel’s non-fiction book of the same name butthe two are distinct projects. “The book is very personal piece of work,” heexplained during the Q&A. “It’s me talking about my own experience of thisparticular phenomenon. [In the documentary] I can go speak to other Jews, andthey can tell me whether or not they’ve experienced the same kind of thing. Itturns out that this is something which, as Sarah Silverman says, a lot of Jewshave been feeling for a long time, but maybe hasn’t been articulated before.”

“And I guess the other thing that the book can’t do is, you can feel thingslike the Colleyville incident, for example,” Baddiel continued, referring tothe hostage crisis that took place at the beginning of this year, in which ayoung British man held up a Texas synagogue at gunpoint. Convinced of Jews’power and influence, the hostage-taker selected the synagogue at random todemand that an unaffiliated (and bewildered) rabbi in New York order therelease of an inmate and alleged al-Qaeda operative from Fort Worth.

David Baddiel and Sarah Silverman in “Jews Don’t Count.”

The rabbi, Angela Buchdahl, also makes an appearance in “Jews Don’t Count.”“The way we’ve rendered it, you can feel what that’s like for [her] suddenlybeing cast as this ridiculous stereotype of Jewish power that she’s got fourpeople’s lives in her hands,” Baddiel said.

He also shows how Jewish schools in the UK participate in active shooterdrills, an exercise almost unheard of in Britain, connecting it with festeringanti-Semitism on all sides of the political divide.

Despite the sober subject matter, audiences may be surprised to find that“Jews Don’t Count” also has plenty of laughs (at one point Silverman proclaims“I love money!” before acknowledging this documentary probably isn’t the bestplace to say that out loud). “It’s part and parcel of a Jewish tradition thatwhen you talk about trouble and awful things, you also try and be funny aboutit,” Baddiel said.

The documentary also sees Baddiel, who came to fame as a comedian, grapplewith anti-Semitism in the industry. The film examines “Bo’ Selecta!,” aBritish sketch show from the early 2000s which saw comedian Leigh Francisdress up as a number of public figures including Black (and Jewish) musicianCraig David, for which Francis donned Blackface. Francis also caricaturedBaddiel in the show, portraying him with a hook nose, long curly sidelocks(which Baddiel has never worn) and thick accent. It was a portrayal a friendof Baddiel’s apparently found so appalling he suggested it constituted a hatecrime.

In 2020 Francis released a video apologizing for portraying Black celebritiesincluding David and Michael Jackson. Baddiel, however, did not receive anapology from Francis. “I don’t like calling out other comedians. We’recomedians and it’s weird to do that. But in this particular case, it’s such aclear example of the selective outrage in the sense that, as far as I’m aware,no one has ever drawn any attention to that [lack of apology],” Baddiel saidduring the Q&A. He also revealed that Francis had declined a request to appearin “Jews Don’t Count.”

During the Q&A, Baddiel also discussed Dave Chappelle’s SNL monologue about> Kanye West, which took place just a few days earlier. “I love Dave> Chappelle, he’s a brilliant comedian,” Baddiel said but added that he had> found the SNL monologue “weird.” “Dave Chappelle was basically saying,> ‘Look, Kanye is right. We can’t say out loud, but Kanye was right, because> look what’s happened to him,’” Baddiel said, referring to the many brands> that had cut ties with West following his litany of public antisemitic> comments, including a threat to “go death con 3 on Jewish people [sic].”

“There are consequences, like there are [in the case of] all other minorities,when people say racist or discriminatory things,” Baddiel said. “But withJews, those consequences seem to be indicative of Jewish power.”

One of the most powerful moments in “Jews Don’t Count” is when Baddiel tackleshis own racist caricature of Black British footballer Jason Lee during a ’90sBBC sketch show called “Fantasy Football League.” In the show Baddiel appearedin Blackface as Lee with a pineapple on his head while his co-host, FrankSkinner, played Lee’s manager.

Baddiel has apologized publicly a number of times for the sketch but had nevermet Lee in person. In the documentary, he appears as a guest on Lee’s podcast,“AbsoluteLee,” during which he apologizes again. The duo then have adiscussion of both racism and anti-Semitism. During the Q&A, Baddiel revealedthat, although it’s not shown in the doc, he apologized to Lee again beforeleaving the podcast studio. “I just went up to him again, and said, ‘I’msorry, again.’ And he just went, ‘It’s done now.’ And shook my hand.” Theexperience, Baddiel said, was difficult but one he was grateful for. “I’m veryglad I’ve done it.”

Ultimately “Jews Don’t Count” ends on a hopeful note. “I do think that thedial is shifting, I say that at the end of the film,” Baddiel said. “I thinkthings have definitely moved on from when I wrote the book. Hopefully, thefilm will make people just think about it.”

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There is some seriously bad blood mood from the Taylor Swift ticket debacle.

The “Anti-Hero” singer broke all kinds of records with the release of herlatest album, midnight. So you can imagine that ticket sales for her Eras_tour , her first since 2018 ,_ would be big. We just didn’t predict itwould go so awry.

So what happened? The pop superstar partnered with Ticketmaster’s Verified Fanprogram, which allowed her superfans — aka the Swifties — to pre-registerearlier in the month to receive a special code that allowed for early ticketsales on Nov. 15 — three days before they go on sale to the general public.The verification process also aims to identify real humans versus bots to weedout bulk buying and reselling.

However, there was a glitch — or, for the most die-hard — a catastrophe. Fanslogged in on Tuesday and were hit with error messages or trapped in the queuefor two hours. Other fans who planned to get tickets were sent to a wait list.The sale of West Coast tickets was also delayed for three hours to easetraffic to the site. Angry fans captured screenshots of the glitches andposted them to social media slamming Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster was trending,with even US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez weighing in.

The ticket company, owned by Live Nation, posted that there was a“historically unprecedenteddemand”with millions showing up to buy tickets. The business later posted an entireexplainer unpacking what went wrong. It was known the sale was going to be abig deal after 3.5 million people pre-registered, the largest Verified Fanregistration in history. That led to Swift’s tour team, managed by AEG and TheMessina Touring Group, to add more shows, doubling the dates and the tickets.Approximately 1.5 million people were invited to participate in the presalewith the other 2 million on a waiting list. Those numbers were decided becauseTicketmaster historically sees 40% of invited fans, with the specials codes,actually showing up and buying tickets, and most purchase 3 tickets onaverage.

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When the pre-sale tickets became available on Tuesday, those with the codeswent to the site and so did fans who didn’t have a code. On top of that, therewas a “staggering number of bot attacks,” with those factors resulting inunprecedented traffic to the site, according to Ticketmaster. There were 3.5billion — yes, billion! — system requests, which was four times more than thecompany ever experienced. In total, 2 million tickets were sold that day — themost tickets ever sold for an artist in a single day. The company claims thatevery ticket was sold to a buyer with the special code.

Taylor Swift Eras tour dates. (Photo: Taylor Swift via Twitter)

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino addressed the chaos on Thursday. “We invited amillion and a half [people] on that day to come and buy those tickets, butit’s kind of like having a party. Everybody crashed that door at the same timewith 3.5 billion requests,” he said, according to the Hollywood Reporter .“We sold 2 million tickets, the most we’ve ever sold in one day in history,and another million tickets of other artists on the same day. So although weregret it was a slowdown in some queues and some error codes for a shortperiod for some fans, we did manage to recover.”

Rapino added, “There’s no nice way to tell 10 million Swifties, ‘There’s notickets.’ So they do what they do and they go to social and we deal with thatevery day.”

Also on Thursday, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced aninvestigation into Ticketmaster and Live Nation over the disastrous presaleevent. Skrmetti said his office saw a “number of complaints,” prompting anexamination into the situation, including possible antitrust violations. AOC’stweet claimed the real problem with the sale gone awry was Ticketmaster’smonopolization of the live music industry.

Tickets, which cost fans between $49 and $449 for standard and $199 to $899for VIP, during the pre-sale, are now being resold on sites like StubHub foras much as $28,000. And it’s left a bad taste for Swift fans. Since all thisplayed out, some have expressed disappointment inSwift about theprocess and prices, leading to fighting with fans who are defendher.

Taylor Swift accepts an award onstage during the MTV Europe Music Awards 2022held at PSD Bank Dome on November 13, 2022 in Duesseldorf, Germany. (Photo:Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

So what has Swift said about this? Actually nothing yet. No comments on socialmedia. We’ve reached out to her publicist and will update this story if wehear back.

The Eras tour kicks off March 17 in Glendale, Ariz., as of now, and runsthrough early August, when there are a block of shows in LA Some of thesupporting acts are Haim, Paramore and Phoebe Bridgers. International datesare pending.

Swift said the shows will be “a journey through the musical eras of my career(past and present!).”

This week, after cleaning up at the MTV Europe Music Awards and slaying thered carpet, Swift earned four new Grammy nominations, bringing her total to46. The 11-time Grammy winner’s new album just missed the cut-off forconsideration, so expect here to get even more next year. The 2023 Grammyswill air Feb. 5.

Why this particular number?

“I just can’t get around that. Green Day has been with me all my childhood.This song was released as a b-side once, and that version is the best.Straightforward, guitar only. I was fifteen when I first I heard it and I wasimmediately taken in. I like tempo, I like punk, but this was the first time Iheard an artist accompanied only by guitar.

I remember exactly how I felt when I first heard this song, I was reallyenchanted and immediately played it fifty times in a row that day. By now I’veplayed it maybe 100 thousand times on guitar. Everyone knows this is my song.”

And what does it say about your life?

“My father passed away and he was not very outspoken about his taste. He hadcancer and was only ill for a short time. His head was affected quickly, so hecould no longer say what he wanted. I knew that he really wanted to go toScotland walking, so I shouted something about a bagpipes. That funeraldirector still knew someone and so a bagpiper came to the cemetery who_Amazing Grace_ played. Beautiful.

Because of that experience I know for sure that I want to have everythingspoken and recorded for myself. For example, upon entry I want the soundtrackof Schindler ‘s List, the first song has to be classic anyway. And besides,this song means a lot to me and my family. I have a fascination with World WarII and went to Auschwitz with my brother-in-law, my sister’s husband, a fewyears ago. That was so impressive. He is now deceased, it hits me again nowthat I tell about it. He was eventually cremated on their wedding day.

After that I want to play some rock songs, like No One Knows from Queens ofthe Stone Age and No surprises from Radiohead. The entire list is alreadywith the funeral director. I am now also thinking about hanging an envelopewith poems on the inside of my bedside table, so that my wife will also knowwhich self-written poems I would like to hear.”

Where do you prefer to listen to music?

“In the car, cliché perhaps, but in a household with four children, not everychild is waiting for daddy’s music. We have a composite family, with littleones between four and sixteen years old. When we go on holiday to Normandy, wemake a combined playlist and everyone adds 25 songs and we listen to themthroughout the holiday.

How many lists do you have on Spotify?

“Where I first made playlists with my top 100 and stuff, I now mainly go forone list of songs that you can add a heart to. That is my basic playlist.There is also a funeral list. Furthermore, I now consciously choose albumsagain , because I noticed that I listened so little to artists. I am taking ameditation course and I now try to do everything with attention. Listeningwith attention gives a different experience.”

What is your guilty pleasure?

” Guilty pleasures can go in many directions, of course, but in recent yearsa special one has arisen for me. A few years ago I jokingly participated in agiveaway by pop stage 013, especially for a colleague who loves the deathmetal band Cradle of Filth. We won tickets for the concert and that turned outto be great. It’s very wrong and over the top , but I also enjoyed it. Sincethen I have to go there whenever they are around. I’m not going to cross thecountry specifically for it, but if they come to Tilburg I’ll buy a ticket.”

It’s been five years since New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and JodiKantor finally published what many in Hollywood privately knew: Oscar-winningproducer, Harvey Weinstein, had a pattern of sexual harassment allegationsstretching back for decades and involving such high-profile stars as AshleyJudd and Rose McGowan. Following their blockbuster first story on Oct. 5,2017, the duo continued to expose Weinstein’s various crimes, as the formerMiramax head began a prolonged New York court battle that ended with a guiltyverdict and a 23-year prison sentence. (He’s currently being tried in LosAngeles on sexual assault charges.)

On the fifth anniversary of the beginning of Weinstein’s downfall — whichgalvanized the already-existing #MeToo movement — moviegoers can revisit howthe journalists cracked the case in She Said , a powerful dramatization oftheir 2019 book. Directed by Maria Schrader and starring Carey Mulligan andZoe Kazan as Twohey and Kantor respectively, the movie arrives in theaters asmany in the industry are taking stock of how far we’ve come, or not, since thestory first broke.

For the record, Mulligan thinks that Hollywood in 2022 is a different placethan it was in 2017.

“Concrete changes have happened,” the Oscar-nominated actress tells YahooEntertainment. “There are now things like intimacy coordinators, anti-harassment workshops and code of conducts before you start shooting a film.All of that stuff is now here for good and I think that’s crucial. We talk alot about how crazy it is that all of it didn’t exist before! And all of thosethings are the result of this story.”

Interestingly, Kazan first went on the record about sexual harassment inHollywood in the summer of 2017 — months before the Weinstein story broke. “Ajournalist asked me about sexual harassment… and I had never been asked aboutit before,” she says, referring to a profile published in The Guardian. “Itdidn’t really occur to me that it was something I should be nervous speakingup about. I wasn’t speaking to any specific situation, but it just seemed likesuch a matter-of-fact part not just of my experience in the industry, but awoman’s experience period. You have only to look at how little girls aretalked to about consent to understand that it is something that is pervasive.”

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At the time, Kazan — who until recently had an active Twitter feed — remembersbeing bombarded by online trolls for her comments. But she also knew that herwords had struck a chord. “My dad told me that the teenage girls who livednext door had spoken to him and said how meaningful it was that I had spokenup about this. That really helped heal the fear that I had had about speakingup. In 2022, it’s very easy to look back and think it was inevitable thatHarvey Weinstein would face some consequences for his actions, but I don’tthink it was inevitable at all.It took incredible bravery and incrediblewillingness for these two women to put themselves and their reputations on thelines.”

While Weinstein is in prison and will likely remain there for the rest of hislife, other high-profile Hollywood personalities who have been accused ofsexual harassment and abuse are finding a way back to work, including LouisCK, James Franco and Kevin Spacey. The men at the center of those storieseither avoided having their cases brought to court or, as in Spacey’s case,have been tried and found not liable. Asked whether Hollywood should provideconsequences for known abusers and harassers when the legal system can’t, SheSaid co-star Patricia Clarkson — who plays Rebecca Corbett, the New YorkTimes editor that oversaw the Weinstein story — suggests that those actorswill never truly be a part of the industry again.

“They might be finding their way back, but I don’t think they’ll ever reallybe back,” Clarkson says. “In Hollywood, the blows are too heavy now; I don’tthink many people can get up from those blows. There are also so many goodpeople in our industry that need to work and are better people. Why are wetrying to resuscitate men who have committed felonies? Why, when we have somany good people in our industry to rely on and move forward with? Let’s keepthis ship going, let’s keep it balanced and let’s keep equality right where itis.”

“I do believe in forgiveness, but I think that some of these men areunforgivable because it went on for so long,” Clarkson continues. “It wasn’tlike one night or one moment in their careers; this was a repetitive behaviorthat many people condoned in their lives. Not anymore — not anymore.”

Brad Pitt attends the 2022 Venice International Film Festival in September.The actor is a credited producer on She Said , and is currently facingassault allegations. (Photo by Rocco Spaziani/Archivio Spaziani/MondadoriPortfolio via Getty Images)

It’s worth noting that a specific aspect of She Said is representative ofthe challenges facing the entertainment industry as it attempts to chart acourse through the #MeToo landscape. Brad Pitt is one of the film’s creditedproducers, and the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star is currently facingallegations of having assaulted his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, in 2016. Askedwhether Pitt’s involvement in the film speaks to the complexities of whereHollywood is now, Schrader agrees that contemporary industry realities are”complex.”

“I have to say, one of the many reasons I’m so proud of being part of thisproject is that it doesn’t shy away from its complexity,” the filmmaker says.”I think we’ve all learned a lot during the last five years, and we all havethe possibility to change perspectives. Hollywood and its studios and itspowerful companies have the duty to take on projects which are in a societalconversation and not shy away from them. This is what we expect from the filmindustry: to speak about things even if they are complex and delicate.”

Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan, Andre Braugher and Patricia Clarkson in She Said.(Photo: ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Beyond its impact on Hollywood, Twohey and Kantor’s reporting represented amajor win for journalism — an industry that’s been left battered and bruisedby corporate takeovers, harsh economic times and the relentless criticism ofpoliticians like former President Donald Trump. Much like its cinematicforbearers — Alan J. Pakula’s 1976 classic All the President ‘s Men and TomMcCarthy’s 2015 Oscar winner spotlight — She Said reminds moviegoers howimpactful carefully-reported news stories can be, particularly at a time whendistrust in the media is running high.

“Documentation is what’s important,” notes Andre Braugher, who plays former_New York Times_ executive editor Dean Baquet. “One of the themes of the filmis that without documentation, it becomes a ‘He said, she said,’ story. It’sthe importance of a paper trail that moves these investigations from solelyaccusations of bad behavior to documentation of pervasive industrial practicesis . We live in an opinion-driven world. The attempt to discover and propagatefacts is of paramount importance for our democracy, period.”

“The film speaks to what collective action can achieve when backed by aninstitution like The New York Times ,” Mulligan concludes. “It was reallyeye-opening to see the incredibly high standards that a place like the _Times_has in terms of how they report. The film does a great job showing how much ittakes to be able to run a story like this, and that words really matter andthe truth really matters.”

She Said premieres Nov. 18 in theaters

It’s May 16, 1983. The TV show _Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever_celebrates 25 years of Motown music. Marvin Gaye sings ‘What’s Going On’ andgives an impassioned speech about black music. The Temptations and The FourTops have a music battle and Diana Ross is back on stage with The Supremes.

The song that Michael Jackson (1958-2009) plays is certainly not a Motownclassic. He sings ‘Billie Jean’, a single from his latest long-playing record,released on November 30, 1982 Thriller about an obsessed woman who claims heis the father of her child. The video clip in which the singer dances onilluminated sidewalk tiles was already special. Live in front of some 47million television viewers, Jackson during the bridge of the song hasanother sophisticated treat in store. It takes four counts at the most, buthis buttery smooth, backward sliding dance steps to the irresistible beat(later: the moonwalk ) take everyone’s breath away.

Michael Jackson 40 Years of Thriller

When it appears memorial album Michael Jackson Thriller 40 attentionin NRC for the lasting influence of ‘Thriller’. For fans worldwide, November30 will be the documentary ‘Michael Jackson Thriller 40′ screened in theNetherlands in cinema Tuschinski Amsterdam (sold out).

Half a year later, he surprises again. Jackson brings the title track of thesame Thriller album like an almost 14-minute long horror movie. In a redleather jacket, the singer first becomes a werewolf, later he is a dancingzombie in an intriguing group choreography among living corpses. _“You know it’s thriller, thriller night. You’re fighting for your life inside a killer,thriller. Oh!”_he sings.

The high-quality video of the unorthodox pop hit ‘Thriller’, a theatrical funksong with sound effects such as footsteps, howling wind, a creaking door andeven a very sinister spoken part by Vincent Price, is a sensation. Musicchannel MTV sometimes plays the long song twice an hour.

Magical actually, how as a child of the eighties I still remember exactly howit felt when I received that record from the Sint. Michael Jackson lying onthe fold-out cover, cool-glorious look in white suit with black zippersweater. And oh yes, that tiger so casually on his knee. That horror in theaforementioned video clip by the way: terrifying.

Just one funky snap of the fingers Thriller suddenly four decades old.

A special double celebratory issue coming Friday will feature old forgottenJackson demos and previously unreleased songs like “Who Do You Know.” At theend of this month, various fan events, including Tuschinski in Amsterdam, willscreen a documentary by filmmaker and music historian Nelson George about theorigins of Thriller.

How Jackson revitalized pop music with this album in the early eighties hasoften been described. How the immense sales buoyed up a recession-distressedindustry. How Michael Jackson transformed from teen idol to biggest pop starof his time with this album. A modern performer, a role model for black popmusic.

The sliding __dance steps at ‘Billie Jean’, the moonwalk take everyone’s> breath away

After Thriller followed the album Bath (1987). Legion of hit singles madeJackson even more popular if possible. There was a dark side to that status:the singer, surrounded by gossip, became increasingly alienated and lived inisolation on his estate Neverland – the place where he could remain a child.There were still tours and hits, but revelations about the eccentric artistdominated: he had a pigment disease, underwent facial operations, his fatherhad loose hands, there was financial chaos, and there were wonderfulengagements.

Allegations of child sexual abuse by the pop star were increasingly emphatic.They were not silent after his sudden death, a cardiac arrest, in 2009. Thepenetrating documentary Leaving Neverland (2019) resulted in a brief boycottof his music. But the question of whether we can still listen to Jackson’smusic quickly evaporated.

The singer was a weirdo but he was never found guilty. So fans remained loyal,and old hits are uncancelled. See the exorbitantly high number of streams of’Billie Jean’: played more than 1 billion times on Spotify. And also see thecelebration of Thriller 40 years.

Michael Jackson receives a gold record for ‘Thriller’ in London in 1983 PhotoTerry Lott/Getty Images

8 reasons why ‘Thriller’ is still undisputedly top quality

1. Thriller is a ‘sonic statement’

Play Thriller and marvel at how the direct, transparent and accessible soundblasts from the speakers. Punchy mixing, a razor-sharp distinction between theinstruments. Jackson wanted to make a ‘sonic statement’, blowing listenersaway with extreme musicality. And that still works.

That didn’t happen right away, though. After a first listening session withthe record label, Jackson and his producer Quincy Jones are disappointed withthe still lukewarm enthusiasm. All songs are remixed and boiled down toperfect lengths with renowned technician Bruce Swedien. The final compositionof the album was also a point. At the last minute ‘Beat It’, ‘PYT’ and ‘HumanNature’ were added anyway.

2. Thriller is a melting pot

It is still one of the most striking elements of Thriller : the mixing ofmusical styles. Jackson, with the help of producer, composer and arrangerQuincy Jones, blurred all lines and extended R&B and soul to rock, stretcheddisco funk to pop. In two ballads and quite a few dance hits, the eightiessound from an arsenal of synthesizers dominates. It is now fully embracedagain. And no Jones production without brass instruments: the sharp dots onthe i.

3. Thriller is of a creepy perfection

With the illustrious words “Okay guys, we’re here to save the record industryfrom destruction”, Quincy Jones started the recordings. It was quite apromise. The producer and arranger, who since musicalfilm The Wizz andMichael Jackson’s solo debut Off The Wall had a fatherly bond with Jacksonin 1979 (he called him “Smelly”), pushed the young singer to extremes in eightweeks. Beautiful, Jones could say after every take. But do you have any moreat home?

Listen back to the vocals – online they can be found ‘isolated’ frominstruments. You can hear the singer’s effort, the bendy voice, the vocalpower, all those shrieks. Jackson, Jones and engineer Swedien re-recorded songafter song over and over, well into the night. Jones would then pick out the’good’ parts – a phrase, a cry – which he welded together to almost clinicalperfection.

4. Thriller has ‘killer songs’

Of the nine songs, ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Beat It’, ‘Wanna Be Startin Somethin’ andthe title track ‘Thriller’ became instant classics. But also a disco song like’PYT (Pretty Young Thing)’ forces you to dance. Although there is no clip ofit. (By the way, PYT was perhaps the first ‘afko’ I ever learned myself).

These are songs, each with its own unique look, which was further enhancedwith imaginative, narrative video clips. Like the clip for ‘Beat It’, an R&Bsong with heavy hard rock elements that calls for violence to be avoided:rival gangs come together for a duel.

Striking: the very first single ‘The Girl Is Mine’ is the weakest song on thealbum. Called up on a whim, Jackson’s duet with ex-Beatle Paul McCartneyseemed on paper to be an incredibly beautiful collaboration between two bignames. ‘The Girl Is Mine’, however, turned into a sickly sweet duel for a girl( ” I am a lover, not a fighter”). Unbelievable.

British songwriter Rod Temperton also provided a smoother and sweeter workwith the interchangeable ‘The Lady Of My Life’ and the nice swinging ‘Baby BeMine’. But of course it was his ‘Thriller’, initially called ‘Starlight’, thatstood out. Funny: the title ‘Starlight’ was dropped because it had to be more’mysterious’, fitting Jackson’s new tough star persona.

Michael Jackson Photo Ron Galella/Getty Images

5. Thriller is a mountain of records

The story of Thriller , made for $750,000, is superlative upon superlative.You can’t escape the records. Eight Grammys. Platinum in sixteen countries.One of the best-selling albums of all time. According to record label Epic,now Sony-BMG, it was 104 million copies. The Guinness Book of World Recordsputs it at 67 million.

6. Thriller was the starting point of the music video market

The music video was a new phenomenon in the early 1980s and Jackson understoodhow it worked. Refined, advanced videos all emphasized his idiosyncratic,decisive dance art. They became promotional vehicles for his singles. Theslick group choreographies were later often seen with artists.

7. Thriller is overflowing with musical inventions

During the recordings, between April and November in 1982 at the WestlakeRecording Studios in Los Angeles, everything was done for unique sounds. Forexample, the signature beginning of ‘Thriller’ itself is the sound of a’shooting star’ – a falling back pitch in the synthesizer. And the echo phrasearose “don ‘t think twice” in “Billie Jean” due to Jackson singing through acardboard pipe in the bathroom.

Another recognizable sound: the isolated bass drum. With literally a woolcover on the drum with a microphone in it, the very dry drum beat of ‘BillieJean’ was created.

The best anecdote is of course Eddie Van Halen’s guitar solo. Play what youwant was the request for ‘Beat It. And he did – as a favor, of all things.Studio legend wants his solo to be so loud it blew up the monitor. The flamesburst out. If you listen carefully, you will hear an accidentally recordeddoor knock from Van Halen just before the solo. According to producer QuincyJones, it was “exactly what was missing”.

8. Thriller relies on big names

In addition to rock god Eddie Van Halen, almost the entire band Toto alsoplayed on this album, including guitarist Steve Lukather. The fact that cultactor Vincent Price lent his low voice to the spoken ‘Thriller’ intro -(“Darkness falls across the land…”) made the song even more ominous.

The ‘Human Nature’, which was later also widely covered in jazz (Miles Davis),was written by Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro. It was a comfort song for hisdaughter that accidentally ended up on a demo. Jackson said it was the “mostbeautiful melody he had ever heard.”

In the wake of widespread problems around Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteentour on-sales, US Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the Senate JudiciarySubcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, haswritten a letter to Ticketmaster raising concern about the lack of competitionin the ticketing industry and the service it provides to consumers.

Widespread complaints about astronomical prices, long wait times and crashingcomputer servers plagued the first day of ticket sales for Swift’s 2023 touron Tuesday, further rocking an industry that has been saddled with accusationsof problematic business practices for many years. Ticketmaster, which is byfar the dominant ticketing business in the country, has been particularlycriticized.

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“I write to express serious concerns about the state of competition in theticketing industry and its harmful impact on consumers. Reports about systemfailures, increasing fees, and complaints of conduct that violate the consentdecree Ticketmaster is under suggest that Ticketmaster continues to abuse itsmarket positions,” Klobuchar (D-Mn.) wrote to Michael Rapino, president andCEO of Ticketmaster’s parent company , Live Nation.

“Ticketmaster’s power in the primary ticket market insulates it from thecompetitive pressures that typically push companies to innovate and improvetheir services. That can result in the types of dramatic service failures wesaw this week, where consumers are the ones that pay the price,” Klobuchar’sletter continued. (The full text of the letter appears below.)

Such open letters to Ticketmaster’s executives are nothing new: Rep. BillPascrell (DN.J.) and other Congresspeople have criticized the company multipletimes in recent years, most recently over its “dynamic pricing” model, whichled to astronomical prices on the initial dates for a 2023 tour by BruceSpringsteen, one of Pascrell’s state’s most treasured artists.

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But Klobuchar’s chair position and history with the live entertainmentindustry bring a new element to the situation. She was a key leader in the“Save Our Stages” campaign that brought $16 billion in federal pandemic reliefto independent music venues and theaters, and in April 2020, she and SenatorsRichard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Cory Booker (D-NJ ) urged the Department ofJustice Antitrust Division to take action to ensure small and independentvenues can compete on a level playing field in the live entertainmentmarketplace.

In August 2019, Klobuchar and Blumenthal called on the DOJ Antitrust Divisionto investigate the state of competition in the ticketing marketplace, givennews reports that Ticketmaster-Live Nation was not adhering to the conditionsof the antitrust consent decree governing its merger.

While reps for Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to requests forcomment given the early hour of the letter’s release, a company rep’s responseto Pascrell in September stated in part, “We appreciate and share CongressmanPascrell’s passion for improving the ticketing industry and look forward tocontinuing our dialogue with him. As the resale ticketing market has grown tomore than a $10 billion dollar industry over the past few years, artists andteams have lost that revenue to resellers who have no investment in the eventgoing well or any of the people working behind the scenes to bring the eventto life. As such, Event Organizers have looked to market-based pricing torecapture that lost revenue.”

While many of the problems experienced by hopeful concertgoers around theSwift and Springsteen on-sales are to be expected when demand exponentiallyoutweighs availability and a computer system experiences unprecedentedactivity, there is little question that the ticketing industry is among themost problematic in the entertainment business.

Full text of the letter appears below:

Dear mr. Rapino:

I write to express serious concerns about the state of competition in theticketing industry and its harmful impact on consumers. Reports about systemfailures, increasing fees, and complaints of conduct that violate the consentdecree Ticketmaster is under suggest that Ticketmaster continues to abuse itsmarket positions.

Ticketmaster and LiveNation dominate the live entertainment supply chain withpowerful positions in primary ticketing, secondary ticketing, concertpromotion, artist management, tour sponsorships, and event venue operation.Ticketmaster ‘s power in the primary ticket market insulates it from thecompetitive pressures that typically push companies to innovate and improvetheir services. That can result in dramatic service failures, where consumersare the ones that pay the price.

I have been skeptical of the combination of these companies since you mergedin 2011, when the Senate held a hearing into the merger. At that hearing, youappeared as a witness and pledged to “develop an easy-access, one-stopplatform that can deliver … tickets.” And you said that you were “confidentthis plan will work.” It appears that your confidence was misplaced.

When Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in 2010, it was subject to anantitrust consent decree that prohibited it from abusing its market position.Nevertheless, there have been numerous complaints about your company ‘scompliance with that decree. I am concerned about a pattern of non-compliancewith your legal obligations.

I look forward to your response to these questions, which I would appreciatereceiving by November 23, 2022.

1. Are you still “confident” that your plan to develop an “easy-access, one-stop platform” that will be a “trusted business partner” is working?

Typically, what percentage of high profile tour tickets are available to thegeneral public compared to those allocated to pre-sales, radio stations, VIPs,and other restricted sales opportunities? Please provide specific recentexamples.

Ticketmaster has been repeatedly accused of violating the requirements of itsconsent decree with the Department of Justice. Is Ticketmaster aware of anycomplaints that have been made to it or to government agencies about potentialnoncompliance with the consent decree in the last twelve months? If so, pleaseprovide details about each alleged incident.

In the last twelve months, how much have you invested in upgrading yoursystems to address demand surges, and specifically, what improvements didthose investments generate?

In the last three years, has the Ticketmaster Board of Directors receivedinformation about decree compliance? If so, please provide copies of anymaterials provided to any Board member on this topic.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

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On the surface, it was difficult for Gabrielle Union to relate to hercharacter The Inspection.

Inez French is a corrections officer who kicked her son (Jeremy Pope) out ofthe house when he was a teenager for being gay. (The drama is based on thetrue-life story of its writer-director, Elegance Bratton, who attempted to winhis mother’s love back by enlisting in the Marines.)

Union herself is an outspoken advocate of LGBTQ+ rights, steadfastlysupporting her stepdaughter Zaya (whom she helped raise with husband DwayneWade), who came out as transgender in 2020.

“Initially, I was like, ‘I live differently. What have I ever given off tomake anyone think that I could pull this off convincingly?,’” Union told us ina virtual interview where she was joined by Bratton and Pope.

Ultimately Union found a link to Inez through some reflection on her self-image and identity.

“I had to find the common ground with her. And that common ground is all ofthe things that we are willing to do in order to be seen, in order to movethat much further ahead for a check, for a relationship, for acceptance,validation for white supremacy. What are we willing to gamble with? And forme, I didn’t gamble with my children, but I’ve gambled with all sorts ofthings.

“I mean to not make light of it, but I gambled with my upper lip. For manyyears I would literally smile [while hiding my lip]. Because I thought if Ilet my full lip be seen, then they would know I was Black. … As illogical andsilly and stupid as that is, I tried to minimize my Blackness. I tried toconstantly be shapeshifting that dual consciousness. I had multiplepersonalities. I was trying to constantly change who I was, depending on theroom, if I thought it was gonna get me this far ahead. All the things that youdo for a man, all the things that you do for Jesus, all the things that you dofor whoever you think that is going to deem you worthy, deem you good enough,deem you worthy of all the opportunities in life, riches, you’ll do anything.You will barter with anything. And for some of us that’s children. And for me,it was my soul many times. So when I realized that common ground, it’s dark.It’s just very dark and disturbing.”

Story continues

Gabrielle Union in ‘The Inspection’ (A24 Films)

Union, 50, started her career with roles in popular but predominantly whiteteen comedies She ‘s All That (1999), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)and Bring It On (2000). She also played a love interest to both Ross (DavidSchwimmer) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) in a 2001 episode of Friends.

In the years to come, though, the actress began landing more prominent partsin films with largely Black casts. Those included The Brothers (2001) withMorris Chestnut and Bill Bellamy; Deliver Us from Eve (2003) opposite LLCool J; Bad Boys II (2003) starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence; and_Breakin ‘ All the Rules_ (2004) alongside Jamie Foxx.

Prominent credits in more recent years include Think Like a Man (2012), TopFive (2014), The Birth of a Nation (2016), break-in (2018) and the BETseries Being Mary Jane (2014-19).

Now, Union is drawing early awards buzz for her punishing role in TheInspection which could mark a career-best performance.

“I think hurt people hurt people, and healed people have the ability to helpheal other people,” Union says of the film’s messages. “You just have to wantto do different and wanna love differently and you have to know that you’rereally losing nothing in loving completely.”