Month: November 2022

A modern Gesamtkunstwerk or an ‘immersive concert experience’ in whichchoral music and painting merge. That’s the promise of the program Van Goghin Me by the Nederlands Kamerkoor and the Italian studio fuse*. Music byDebussy, Mahler, Schönberg is combined with digitally distorted paintings bycontemporaries Vincent van Gogh and Gustav Klimt. The performance was allowedto participate in the state visit of King Willem-Alexander to Austria thissummer, where it had its world premiere in the Vienna Konzerthaus. The reasonis the Gustav Klimt exhibition, now on display in the Amsterdam Van GoghMuseum and later in the Vienna Belvedere: that exhibition is also about makingartistic connections.

Also read the review of the exhibition in the Van Gogh Museum: How ‘GoldenBoy’ Gustav Klimt surfed the artistic waves of his time

What do you hear and why?

Rahul Gandolahage: „The Chamber Choir sings a cappella music by Saint-Saëns,Debussy, Satie, Alma and Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and Schönberg. Much ofit was originally not choral music, but instrumental music to which German andFrench poetry was later set. The ‘Adagietto’ from Mahlers Fifth Symphony forexample, has been arranged for chorus by Clytus Gottwald. He chose the poem_Im Abendrot_ by Joseph von Eichendorff as text. So it’s kind of a remix. Thelyrics are not in the program booklet. That would also be pointless, becauseit is dark in the room. But the lyrics are also not projected anywhere. So youhave no idea what you’re hearing. The music felt quite anonymous and distantas a result.”

Thomas van Huut: „I had studied the program in advance, but the reason behindthe musical choices was not clear to me. In his Paris period, Van Gogh was afan of Wagner, Klimt made the famous Beethoven Frieze. We don’t hear Wagnerand Beethoven. But why Satie and Saint-Saëns?”

What is there to see?

TvH: „On a large screen above the choir you see an endless amount of hair-fine, colored lines that flow and wave across the screen. Famous paintings byVan Gogh and Klimt loom up in the abstract patterns that arise as a result.For example, you recognize almond blossom and Wheatfield with crows by VanGogh, and the blistering gold of Klimts The kiss and Water hoses II. TheItalian multimedia studio fuse* collects live data during the concert: dataabout the sound, movements of the conductor and some choir members, in orderto let the ’emotion of the music’ drive the digital effects. So the paintingsare actually ‘remixed’ live.”

Thedigital version of Van Gogh ‘s Sunflowers. Photo Melle MeivogelTheNederlands Kamerkoor and the Italian studio fuse in Van Gogh in me.Photo Julia WeselyTheNederlands Kamerkoor and the Italian studio fuse in Van Gogh in me.Photo Julia Wesely TheNederlands Kamerkoor and the Italian studio fuse in Van Gogh in me*.Photo Julia Wesely

Is there synergy?

TvH: „I thought so at the visually more abstract moments: where the patternsswell with the vocals, it is indeed as if they are painting with their voices.Blue flecks looked pretty like puffs of breath in icy air. Sometimes I couldalso enjoy the colors with the music: beautiful blue and bright orange.”

RG: „A concert has always been a ‘living’ performance. The extra layer here isthat the paintings are also ‘performed’, but that didn’t do much for me. Ifound myself closing my eyes after just a few ‘paintings’ to be able to listento the music. And when I opened my eyes again, I saw nothing that surprisedme. The distortions became predictable.”

TvH: “When the original paintings loomed up from the abstract digitalmeandering seas, it sometimes almost hurt me: their rendering was so distortedthat you couldn’t see the nuances of the original paintings. Then it becomes apuzzle: guess your picture, which painting was distorted here? And because youcouldn’t read the sung lyrics, I found it difficult to make a substantiveconnection with the music.”

RG: “The distraction also lies in how the paintings were deformed. Inportraits, the facial skin seemed to run off like wet makeup. One face seemedsmeared with bird droppings. But there were beautiful moments. Then withMahler’s ‘Adagietto’ __from afar The kiss van Klimt emerged, in a kind ofdark forest of fiery orange trees, I thought that was a nice effect.Especially because the ‘Adagietto’ was a love letter for Alma Mahler. But youshould just know that, you couldn’t read it.”

Would this formula have worked better with abstract paintings?

TVH: “I don’t think so. A painting is finished, a painter is already workingwith colors that shimmer or wave. There is no need for an extra layer ofmovement. What you see now is a glorified visualizer from Windows Media Playercombined with a slideshow of famous paintings.”

Was it, as promised, an ‘immersive experience’?

RG: “Live music has always been an immersive experience.”

TvH: “Moving the image confused me most. After all, the ‘immersive’ power ofart is in your own imagination.”

RG: “And it will be filled in here for you.”

So this show doesn’t work?

RG: “Not as a Gesamtkunstwerk, but as a crowd puller. The audience wasrelatively young, younger than at most classical concerts. Carré was almostcompletely full. She drew the name Van Gogh into the hall, but I had thefeeling that the applause was ultimately mainly for the singers. So in thatrespect: successful.”

Classical/ Video Art

Van Gogh in Me by the Nederlands Kamerkoor and the Italian studio fuse*.

Heard and seen: 14/11 Carré, Amsterdam. Tour until 3/12.

Info: nederlandskamerkoor.nl

****●●●

View an overview of our reviews about classic

Newsletter NRC Culture Guide

What should you see, hear or listen to this week? Our editors review and tip

A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of November 15, 2022

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And once again Canvas shows that it has a nose for good French documentaries:the Belgian channel broadcast on Sunday _Un president, l ‘Europe et la guerre_which follows President Macron during the six-month French presidency of theEuropean Union this year. On day 55 of Macron’s Europe service, Russia invadedUkraine. Filmmaker Guy Lagache got to witness a historic period of politicaldiplomacy behind the scenes.

Intelligent minds, brains that work overtime, permanent stress: an atmospherelike in the sizzling hit series The West Wing. But then really.

Because of its unprecedented openness, the documentary will keep you on theedge of your seat. As a viewer, you can even listen in to a telephoneconversation between Macron and Putin just before the invasion, in which theFrench president addresses his Russian colleague as a strict friend.”Vladimir, I don’t know where your lawyer went to school,” he snaps, arguingwith Putin about the interpretation of a treaty text. When Macron tries tomake him promise to talk to Biden, Putin reports that he is almost good-natured in the sports hall for a game of ice hockey and cannot say anythingconcrete about a date.

“He always lies,” the French chief diplomat, Emmanuel Bonne, who listens in,summarizes it bitterly.

Image from the documentary ‘Un president, l’Europe et la guerre’.Image Stillfrom TV

You’ll also hear Macron talking to Boris Johnson, Mario Draghi and Olaf Scholzabout what Putin is doing. And with Volodimir Zelenski, where both mensometimes speak English and you can feel the atmosphere. Chilling is themoment when Zelensky reports on the first bloody acts of war, and Macron seemsto want to say: we are coming now to help you.

The one who didn’t know anything was Putin

Accompanying texts show that most European leaders were aware that Macron wasbeing filmed and authorized the clips in which they themselves appear. The onewho knew nothing about it was Putin. The Russian news agency Ria Novostitherefore tweeted angrily that the French no longer respect the diplomaticrules of negotiations. Macron and his associates have no doubt reasoned thatnot respecting the sovereign rights of a democratic neighbor is a much biggerfaux pas.

You must have a strong stomach if you end up on the world stage as a diplomator politician and realize that your approach can determine whether or not DeBom will fall. But I also thought: there are probably more parallels with howa power struggle is fought in, for example, the pigeon fanciers’ associationthan you think. It is the universal set of instruments, talking, massaging,conferring, making alliances, threatening, being strict and hoping that no onereally throws the bat in the henhouse.

I was pleased to see in this film how well the diplomatic leaders of Germanyand France get along.

The intense documentary contrasted sharply with the first episode of thelight-hearted youth series Timmyland that same Sunday, in which Tim denBesten pretends to become a dictator, in order to show how important democracyis. Please let a little smart teenager go too Un president, l ‘Europe et laguerre look, about what happens when someone is a real dictator.

_Renate van der Bas and Maaike Bos write columns about television five times a

En su versión contemporánea, el Mundial de fútbol es un fabulosoacontecimiento comercial y politico sostenido por las emociones que procuranlos futbolistas desde hace un siglo. Uruguay, un pequeño país de 176,000kilómetros cuadrados, 3.4 millones de habitantes y una ardiente pasión por elfútbol, ​​organizó and 1930 la primera Copa del Mundo. Qatar, una nación de11,500 kilómetros cuadrados, 15 veces más pequeña que Uruguay, con unapoblación de tres millones habitantes y sin ningún interés por el fútbol hastahace muy poco, será la sede de esta edición. No es difícil pronosticar queUruguay nunca más albergará and solitario el Mundial de fútbol. Más fácil essuponer que en algún momento, no sabemos cuándo y en qué circunstancias, otroQatar oficiará el torneo.

Un juego que nació a mediados del siglo XIX no deja de fascinar a unaaudiencia multiplicada exponencialmente por los avances que permiten disfrutardel fútbol sin mover del sofá. And lo basico no ha cambiado. Como en susinicios, el secreto del futbol está en los futbolistas. Sin ellos, noencuentra sentido nada del gigantesco mundo que les rodea.

Hasta cierto punto, la posición de los jugadores no se ha modificado en losultimos 100 años. Sobre las estrellas de entonces, caso de los uruguayosScarone y Andrade o de los argentinos Ferreira, Stabile y Luisito Monti, y dela rivalidad de sus selecciones se construyó el relato que todavía preside elfútbol, ​​de figoturasémbres: Messiah de figoturasémbres: , Neymar, Kane,Cristiano Ronaldo o Modric. Se les valorara con los mismos criterios queentonces. Unos deslumbrarán, otros decepcionarán y algunos no dejarán huella

Christina Applegate was honored for talent and bravery as she collected herstar on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

the Dead to Me star, making her first public appearance since her multiplesclerosis diagnosis last year, debuted her walking stick at Monday’s event,but leaned on her Married … With Children TV mom Katey Sagal, who helpedApplegate to the podium and physically supported her during her speech. Sheattended the event sans shoes to be more comfortable.

“I can’t stand for too long so I’m going to thank the people I really need tothank,” Applegate, 50, said at the start. As for Sagal’s presence, Applegatesaid Sagal was “just gonna be here” holding her steady, joking it was”so Kateyto steal [my] thunder.”

David Faustino and Katey Sagal pose with former co-star Christina Applegateduring their Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. (Photo: Phillip Faraone/GettyImages)

Applegate — also known for the Anchorman movies and TVs jesse and Up AllNight, to name a few— cracked jokes during her speech and did not directlymention the disease of the central nervous system. However, she alluded to thediagnosis she received in the summer of 2021, referring to herself at onepoint as “the disabled lady.” Later, while thanking “the most important personin the world,” her daughter, Sadie, with her musician husband, Martyn LeNoble(who were both there), she said, “Thank you for standing beside me during allthis.” Then, to the audience, she added, “Oh, by the way I have a disease. Didyou not notice? I’m not even wearing shoes Anyhoo, You’re supposed to laugh atthis.”

Applegate also suggested, as she’s hinted previously, that she’s done withacting as she navigates her health challenges. While thanking the stars whospoke on her behalf, she said, “I like that I started with you two — referringto Married … With Children‘s Sagal and David Faustino — “and ended with youtwo” — pointing to Dead to Me co-star Linda Cardellini and showrunner LizFeldman — _ “_and I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. You are mypeople.” (Applegate has previously said she’d like to continue producing, butshe can’t do long days on the set.)

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Christina Applegate poses during her star unveiling ceremony on the HollywoodWalk of Fame in Los Angeles. (Photo: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni)

Applegate said that growing up in LA, and getting her showbiz start as a younggirl, she always “effing” wanted her own star. Feldman praised her as a “comicgenius and and one of the greatest actors of her generation.”

Sagal, whom Applegate still calls “Mommy,” it was revealed, spoke ofApplegate’s grace and bravery overcoming her challenges, also including abreast cancer diagnosis in 2008.

“You know, sweetheart, some of us come into this life requiring broadshoulders because what’s coming at us needs support to bear it,” Sagal said.”Broad enough to hold what shows up. I’ve seen you — the high highs, the loveand enormous success, coupled with extreme challenges. But you came in withthose shoulders, and you bear the weight and you bend and you don’ t break. Icontinue to love you, laugh with you and to learn from you. … You are notalone. We’re all here. We love you.”

Applegate was seated by her star — which is adjacent to those of Sagal and_married_ dad Ed O’Neill, who was unable to attend — as it was unveiled,playfully doing a little seated dance with her new cane that she shared asneak peek of on Twitter last month. She later got down onto the ground forphotos — solo shots as well as photos with her co-stars, past and present, andhusband and daughter.

Applegate expressed nervousness ahead of attending the event, which wassupposed to take place in 2020 but was delayed by the pandemic.

“Now my life is a different story,” the actress told variety __ earlier thismonth. “People are going to see me for the first time as a disabled person,and it’s very difficult. So, for me, two years ago would have been so muchbetter!” She’s spoken about her 40-pound weight gain to the _New York Times,_saying, “I want people to know that I am very aware of all of that.”

Applegate also spoke about her health, saying production shut down on Dead toMe for five months last year after re-diagnosis. When she returned to theset, she needed a wheelchair to get to set. She had to be physically proppedup for scenes. She napped during the day to get through it, but she wasdetermined to finish the final season of dead to me, which premieres Nov. 17on Netflix, and bring closure to fans of the show as well as to the cast.

As for the MS, Applegate told the New York Times she is “never going toaccept” her diagnosis, adding, “I’m pissed.”

TVUnseen apotheosis in ‘Blind Married’. After Jana and Christiaan ended theirmarriage during the decision-making moment, Jana admits six weeks later thatshe still doubts that choice every day. “That ‘what if’ eats me up,” said theconfused kindergarten teacher, who previously put her husband on the gridbecause of his ‘narrow’ appearance and ‘sweet’ approach between the sheets.Her husband Christiaan wants to stick to the decision. “The fair option”, hecalls it. At the same time, ‘snails’ Jiri and Florence surprisingly chose eachother.

Jana provided a first in seven seasons of ‘Blind Married’ by bringing twoletters to the decision moment. One in case her Christian would say ‘no’, onefor ‘yes’. But it ended up being no. With a loving smile, Christiaan said thatthe couples weekend turned their otherwise happy relationship. “There were toomany differences,” he says. “The distance, the planning…” Christiaan doesn’tliterally say that Jana tripped over his ‘skinny’ build and his ‘sweet’approach in bed, but talks about “other differences that make you insecure andcause doubts.”

LOOK: Jana and Christiaan cut a difficult knot

Christiaan told it with a smile – he didn’t have a cheat sheet – but when hiswife brought out her ‘no’ letter, the emergency nurse broke down. Still with asmile, but with a trembling lower lip and tears in his eyes, Christiaanlistened to Jana say that “she thanks him for his patience” and how she wisheshim a “calm, caring girl”. His heartbreak was felt in the living room.

Still smiling, but with trembling lower lip and tears in his eyes, Christiaanlistened to Jana say that “she thanks him for his patience and a fantastictime”. © VTM

An emotional ending for the most talked-about couple of this season. At leastso it seemed. Because when Ingeborg invited the four couples again for areunion six weeks after that moment, the duo no longer sounded so determined.The two hadn’t seen each other in all that time and Jana started to doubt itin the meantime. “It hurts terribly,” she says. “I still have moments everyday when I struggle with myself. That ‘what if’ eats me up.”

Christiaan is cooler when Ingeborg asks him why he said ‘no’ then. “It was awell-considered decision that we made together,” it sounds almost stoic. “Weknew rationally that it would be difficult in the future, so we chose the fairoption.” Very remarkable, because in the past episodes Christiaan was alwaysthe one who pulled the cart and always had a sparkle in his eye when he talkedabout his Lokerse brunette. Their story of attraction and repulsion does notseem to us to end yet. Perhaps a potential relationship would benefit from aperiod without cameras.

“Fuck it, I deserve too much”

“Every day I am amazed by the similarities,” says Florence. © VTM

For Jiri and Florence, the decision-making moment was less hectic, but the twoprovided the surprise of the season. In the most romantic speech of theseries, Jiri extensively declared love to his “sincere, sweet, reliable, warm,intelligent, sensitive, spontaneous, caring, pure” wife. The well-balancedJiri shed tears after his long list of adjectives when he saw his wife do thesame. “What you do to me, I have never experienced,” he read through histears. “Is this too good to be true? Fuck it, I deserve too much. I am a toughguy, I like to take that wall to break down further.” Florence, who said fromthe start that she had “no attraction” for Jiri, thanked her husband for hispatience and said that she is “still amazed every day by the similarities.”

WATCH: How did ‘Blind Marriage’ end for Jiri and Florence?

Christiaan and Jana: Divorced

Jana: “Since the decision-making moment, I feel that things are not going wellinside yet.” © VTM

High peaks and deep troughs characterize the route of the most talked aboutcouple of this season. For a long time it seemed to be going in the rightdirection, but in the end the distance between Geel and Lokeren turned out tobe too great. Jana detested this final episode for paying attention to thefact that things didn’t click right away physically. Like her decision, itseemed. “Since the decision-making moment, I feel to myself that things aren’tquite right on the inside. Saying ‘no’ to a person you liked at a certainmoment is very painful.” Maybe their story isn’t quite over yet? That willdepend on the coming weeks.

WATCH: Jana breaks down as she revisits the decision moment with herfamily

Jiri and Florence: Married

Jiri and Florence © DPG Media

It seems to us that in the first place Jiri and Florence are very happy thatthe program is over. The two clearly participated in finding a partner forlife, the passage in a popular TV program was not necessary for them. The twoare looking forward to the future, they say at the reunion, although it alsogoes step by step. “The feelings are not ‘wow’ yet, but we are making nicememories”, says Florence, looking back with satisfaction. “In retrospect, itwent perfectly, a different way would not have been better.”

WATCH: This is how Jiri and Florence stayed under the radar

Brecht and Dziubi: Married

Dziubi and Brecht © DPG Media

Even six weeks after their decision point, Brecht and Dziubi are stillmarried. They say that things are still going as smoothly as in the beginning,but they have not yet found a solution for the distance between Ghent andAntwerp. “We still haven’t talked about it,” says Brecht. “First, the feelinghas to keep growing.”

LOOK: How are Brecht and Dziubi doing now?

Lien and Joren: Divorced

Lien & Joren © VTM

Joren and Lien have never really felt that way and that is what they say sixweeks after their joint ‘no’ in the town hall of Aarschot. It sounds like thetwo still hear each other regularly. And that they are proud, that despiteeverything they have shown a lot of respect for each other. The ultimatereason why it didn’t work out? “I think Lien had an ideal image in mind andthat I wasn’t quite,” Joren concludes.

UPDATED with punitive damages, 1:45 PM: The jury in Paul Haggis’ sexualassault civil trial today ordered him to pay $2.5 million in punitive damagesto plaintiff Haleigh Breest. Added to the $7.5 million it awarded Thursday,when he was found liable, the crash double Oscar winner now faces $10million in damages.

Read details of the case below.

More from Deadline

Outside court, Haggis vowed said: “Today the jury learned what the opposingcounsel has known for years, which is that I’ve spent all the money I have atmy disposal. I’ve gutted my pension plan. I’ve lived on loans in order to payfor this case in a very naive belief in justice. Well, now we’ll see what theappeals court will say. Because we will absolutely appeal. I can’t live withlies like this; I want that clearing my name.”

His attorney, Priya Chuadhry, said outside the courtroom: “Throughout thistrial we were not allowed to tell the jury that Mr. Haggis is basicallypenniless, and now the world knows. And we look forward to clearing his name.”

Breest’s lawyer Ilann Maazel told reporters, “The jury did the right thing,”and her other attorney Zoe Salzman said, “Justice was done.” Breest made nocomments outside court.

PREVIOUSLY, Nov 10: A New York jury today found filmmaker Paul Haggisliable on all three counts of rape and sexual abuse in his treatment ofHaleigh Breest, who left a party in Manhattan with him in 2013 and then suedthe crash Oscar winner in 2017 claiming he repeatedly forced sex on her inhis apartment that night.

The unanimous jury of four men and two women — whose makeup changed on thefirst day of deliberations — deliberated for nearly six hours in the civiltrial before awarding Breest $7.5 million in compensation. It also recommendedpunitive damages, the amount of which will be decided Monday, November 14.

Story continues

RELATED: Paul Haggis Sexual Assault Civil Trial: Deadline ‘s CompleteCoverage

Seated between his lawyers, Haggis — who faces no jail time because this wasnot a criminal proceeding — looked straight ahead as the verdicts were read.He then stood with his three adult daughters and hugged one of them, who wascrying.

Standing with his lawyer Priya Chaudhry and his family members outside thecourthouse, Haggis said: “I’m obviously very disappointed in the results. AndI’m going to continue to, with my team, fight to clear my name. We’re going tokeep our options as to what we’re going to do.”

Breest hugged her lawyers and said as she exited that she was “very grateful.”She later released a statement through her attorneys: “I am grateful that Ihad the opportunity to seek justice and accountability in court — and that thejury chose to follow the facts — and believed me. The greatest source ofcomfort through this five year legal journey has been the support I felt fromthe women who bravely shared their own stories and let me know I wasn’talone.”

Breest’s lawyers Zoe Salzman and Ilann Maazel said in a statement: “We’repleased to see justice served for our client, Haleigh Breest. After the juryheard a mountain of undeniable evidence against Mr. Haggis, they did the rightthing and held him accountable for his deplorable behavior. We commend Ms.Breest for the bravery it took to come forward. She stood up for herself andfor all women.”

Also in the hallway, Breest paused to hug her former therapist, CatherineBaker-Pitts, who treated Breest in 2017-19 and testified during the trial thatBreest was suffering from symptoms of trauma.

“Justice was served,” Baker-Pitts said of the verdict, adding that Breeststepped “out of her comfort zone” to pursue the case, “and she trusted in thesystem.”

Baker-Pitts, who was Breest’s most visible and often only supporter in thecourtroom, said she hopes the outcome will help Breest “restore a feeling ofsafety in the world,” and inspire “faith in the power of speaking up — that itwas worth it.”

Today’s verdicts were the latest judgment in a spate of cases growing out of a#MeToo movement that has called out powerful men in the entertainment industryas sexual abusers. The jury was asked to decide whether Haggis was one ofthem. Breest and her lawyers sought to prove that Haggis had forced her tosubmit to intercourse and to perform oral sex on him and pushed his fingersinside of her even as she said “no.”

She spent four days in total on the stand describing the encounter anddefending her interpretation of it against a skeptical cross-examination by alawyer for Haggis, Priya Chaudhry. In closing arguments on Wednesday, Chaudhryasked jurors to use their “fabulous New York common sense” to see throughBreest’s story.

Jurors ruled on three specific charges: first-degree rape and two third-degreecharges of sex abuse and a criminal sexual act under New York law. About onehour into their deliberations, jurors asked the judge for several pieces oftrial testimony and evidence including texts between Breest and the friend shecontacted first, and deposition testimony by Breest and Haggis discussingvaginal sex.

Breest and Haggis both had testified that they went back to his apartmentafter a movie-screening party on Jan. 31, 2013, where Haggis, then 59, was aVIP guest and Breest, then 26, was working as a freelance publicist. Bothagreed that Haggis turned an offer of a ride home for Breest in his hired carinto an invitation to his place, and that she deflected the invitation atfirst by suggesting they instead go to a bar. She then agreed to go home withhim but said she wouldn’t stay the night, both tested.

Their testimony diverged from there. Breest said she felt “pressured” to spendtime after work with Haggis, a frequent guest at events put on by her boss,who fired her after she filed the lawsuit. Haggis testified that he and Breesthad been flirting all night, were genuinely interested in each other and thatBreest was playfully letting him know she was open to sex with him even if shewasn’t planning to stay over.

Haggis testified that the sex was consensual and, to the best of his memory,confined to oral sex that Breest initiated. He said that Breest neverportrayed the encounter to him as anything else until her lawsuit almost fiveyears later at the height of the #MeToo movement, after Haggis had calledmovie producer Harvey Weinstein a “predator” as women in the film industrywere coming forward with accounts of Weinstein sexually brutalizing them.

RELATED: Harvey Weinstein LA Rape Trial: “Bulk Of Case” Could Be Finished ByThanksgiving Week, Defense Attorney Says

He has called the case a vendetta by the Church of Scientology, a secretiveand wealthy religious movement founded by a science fiction novelist. Haggisquit the church in 2009 with harsh words for its methods and spoke at lengthabout his journey through and out of Scientology for a New Yorker profileand an HBO documentary.

His defense lawyers did not produce a single witness or piece of documentationin court linking any of his accusers directly to the church, but in closingarguments on Wednesday, Haggis lawyer Chaudhry said jurors should consider the“strong circumstantial evidence” of a Scientology role in accusations thathave “utterly destroyed him.”

The jury heard from about two dozen witnesses in all, including Haggis, Breestand four Jane Does — Deadline is not naming them — who said Haggis sexuallyassaulted them, or attempted to, in separate incidents between 1996 and 2015after using different ruses to get them alone. They are not parties to thelawsuit against Haggis, but a lawyer for Breest, Ilann Maazel, said in closingarguments that they “give some insight into what his intent really was” whenit took Breest home. Maazel called Haggis a “psychopath” who planned andorchestrated his assault of Breest just as he had done with the other fourwomen.

There were dueling experts on memory, trauma and attitudes towards rapevictims — both with links to courtroom cases that accused Weinstein and theactor Kevin Spacey of sexual abuse. Two spinal surgeons offered contrastingviews on whether Haggis was even capable of initiating forcible sex againstsomeone resisting him physically, given that he was still recovering from anoperation to repair two ruptured discs in his back.

Chaudhry, in a grinding, hours-long cross-examination that left Breest intears, sought to show jurors that the rape as she claimed it happened wasequal parts “fantasy,” as Chaudhry put it in closing arguments, and “notphysically possible .” She said Breest had multiple opportunities to leaveHaggis’ apartment, and instead she spent the night.

Chaudhry depicted Breest as a troubled and emotionally immature woman whomistook “an awkward one-night stand” with a famous, accomplished Hollywoodfigure for something more, and felt humiliated when he showed no furtherinterest.

Chaudhry said Breest’s texts to friends afterward, and emails to Haggis, showher reaction evolving from excitement at having spent the night with him toconfusion at his disinterest, and then regret and humiliation that led her torecast what happened as rape.

One text from Breest read, “As they say in the first wives club don’t get madget everything,” referencing the 1996 revenge-comedy movie The First WivesClub.

“She’s not upset about what happened in Paul Haggis’ apartment that night,”Chaudhry said. “She’s upset that he never invited her back.”

Jurors also heard from a string of defense witnesses with connections to theChurch of Scientology, including the former King of Queens star Leah Remini,who also hosted the Emmy-winning documentary television series, Leah Remini:Scientology and the Aftermath.

Remini and other former Scientologists, including Haggis’ daughter Alissa,told jurors that the church never forgives its enemies and uses litigation andimpossible-to-trace covert operations to undermine them. One ex-Scientist, adocumentary film producer, said that shortly after Haggis left the church, ahigh-ranking Scientologist called her for help digging up dirt on him but sherefused.

“It’s the perfect defense,” Maazel scoffed in his closing. “There’s noevidence of it, so it must be true.”

An ex-wife of Haggis, singer and actress Deborah Rennard, testified thatHaggis was unfaithful and had more than 20 affairs during their marriage butnever was violent. Three other women said they remain friends with Haggis eventhough they rejected his passes or romantic interest.

Haggis himself said on the stand, “I’m a very flawed human being,” but deniedraping or attempting to force himself sexually on anyone.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and thewife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, took the stand Monday at the rape trialof Harvey Weinstein.

Siebel Newsom spent 15 minutes on the stand at the downtown Los Angelescourtroom before a lunch break, becoming the fourth woman Weinstein is accusedof sexually assaulting to testify at the former movie magnate’s trial.

The 48-year-old Siebel Newsom was “a powerless actor trying to make her way inHollywood” in 2005 when Weinstein raped her during what she thought was goingto be a meeting to discuss her career at a Beverly Hills hotel, DeputyDistrict Attorney Paul Thompson said during the trial’s opening statements.

Weinstein’s lawyers say the two had consensual sex and that she sought to usethe powerful producer to advance her career.

When asked by a prosecutor if she saw the person in court that she met at aToronto film festival in 2005, she went silent then burst into tears beforemanaging to mutter “yes” into the microphone.

“He’s wearing a suit, and a blue tie, and he’s staring at me,” she said whenasked to describe him. She had only described their initial meeting before thecourt broke for lunch.

Siebel Newsom is known as Jane Doe #4 at the trial, and like the othersWeinstein is charged with raping or sexually assaulting, her name is not beingspoken in court. But both the prosecution and the defense identified haveidentified her as the governor’s wife during the trial and Siebel Newsom’sattorney confirmed to the AP and other news outlets that she is Jane Doe #4.

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have beensexually abused unless they have come forward publicly.

Weinstein has had many famous accusers, including A-list actors, since hebecame a magnet for the #MeToo movement in 2017. But none of the women tellingtheir stories at the Los Angeles trial have had anywhere near the prominenceof Siebel Newsom, first partner to the man who last week sailed to a secondterm as governor of the nation’s most populous state and may make a run forthe White House.

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“She intends to testify at his trial in order to seek some measure of justicefor survivors, and as part of her life’s work to improve the lives of women,”her attorney Elizabeth Fegan said in a statement at the start of the trial.

Weinstein attorney Mark Werksman told jurors during opening statements thatSiebel Newsom “a very prominent citizen of California” who has made herself “aprominent victim in the #MeToo movement.”

“Otherwise,” Werksman said, “she’d be just another bimbo who slept with HarveyWeinstein to get ahead in Hollywood.”

Actor Daphne Zuniga, star of “Spaceballs” and “Melrose Place,” tested abouther friend at the trial last week.

Zuniga said she and Siebel Newsom were on a hike when she told her she’d had ameeting with Harvey Weinstein. When asked how it went, Zuniga said SiebelNewsom told her “not good, I don’t want to talk about.”

“I always had known her to be positive, upbeat, looks you in the eye, lovelyenergy,” Zuniga said, but here “she seemed upset, squirmy, agitated.”

Prosecutors said that — in a pattern described by many other Weinsteinaccusers — Siebel Newsom had expected they would be meeting in a public spacewith others in attendance, but instead found herself alone with him in hissuite.

Judge Lisa Lench is allowing the defense to use an email Siebel Newsom sent toWeinstein in 2007 asking him for help in dealing with the media surrounding ascandal involving her husband, who was mayor of San Francisco at the time.

Already serving a 23-year sentence for a conviction in New York, Weinstein haspleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and seven counts of sexual assaultinvolving five women. He has denied ever engaging in non-consensual sex.

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter:twitter.com/andyjamesdalton

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For more on the Harvey Weinstein trial, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/harvey-

Workers at a World Cup stadium hustling over the weekend to move a beer tent> after an edict from Qatar hide sales points to less visible locations around> all 8 stadiums amid claims of safety fears.

La selección mexicana no viaja sola a Qatar para esta justa mundialista. Lasombra de incertidumbre, esa que acompaña a Tata Martino en los últimos añosde su gestión como entrenador de México, marcará de cerca al equipo al menosand los tres encuentros de phase de grupos. Los 26 elegidos tendrán queesclarecer in situ a ras de cancha, todas las dudas acumuladas al cabo demás de cuatro años con el técnico argentino al frente.

En su paso por el banquillo del Tri, el exentrenador del Barcelona ha podidoreeconocer muy bien las exigencias del futbol mexicano. “Nunca ni el globo, niel avión, /ni el pájaro o la flecha /partirán tan llenos de milagro … ”,dice sobre el balon el poeta Antonio Deltoro. La selección mexicana encara elMundial con el hambre de un quinto juego, clasificar a cuartos de final, algoque no consigue desde 1986.

Mexico vs Polonia

La selección mexicana comparte el grupo C con Polonia, Argentina y ArabiaSaudi. Su debut lo hará contra el equipo polaco el martes 22 de noviembre alas 10.00 de la mañana, hora de México, and el estadio 974, and Doha, capitalqatarí. México se medra por segunda vez en un Mundial con el equipo europeo.La primera ocurrió en Argentina 1978 con un marcador final en contra de losmexicanos 3-1. La última vez que el tricolor enfrentó a este rival, fue enpartido amistoso celebrado en la ciudad polaca de Gdansk en 2017, con triunfo(0-1) para los entonces dirigidos por Juan Carlos Osorio.

En la delantera, Martino tiene a sus tres centro delanteros: Rogelio FunesMori, Henry Martín y Raúl Jiménez. El primero se ha recuperado de sus lesionescon Monterrey, el segundo ha tenido una de las mejores temporadas en la Ligamexicana con el America y el tercero ha tenido un par de años llenos decalvario. Jiménez sufrió una fractura de cráneo en 2020 cuando la cabeza delbrasileño David Luiz se estrelló con la suya. Desde entonces, Raul ya no hasido Jimenez. La secuela y la baja de ritmo han sido su problema. And estosdías ha intentado superar una pubalgia. El rechazado fue Santiago Giménez, the21 años, que este año se sumó al Feyenoord. El atacante eligió jugar en laLiga holandesa, donde se especializan and formar a los mejores talentos enEuropa. Sus goles han sido crucials para que el club siga con vida en laEuropa League.

Martino convocó a Giménez en 2021 y le dio la oportunidad de debutar cuandoaún era suplente en Cruz Azul. El delantero fue decisivo para que el club delos cementeros ganara la liga tras 23 años sin conseguirlo. Así, dio el saltoa Europa. Otro de los marginados fue Lainez, aquel chico que debutó con 16años and Primera División. Todos los pronósticos le hacian parte de la listafinal, incluso una buena temporada en el Braga de Portugal, pero no fuesuficiente para su entrenador. And su lugar estará Roberto Alvarado, quientambién luce como una gran apuesta por los extremos.