Jumat, 19 Mei 2017
Cannes: Netflix film Okja stopped after technical glitch
A screening at the Cannes Film Festival had to be stopped after technical problems during the first few minutes of the film.
Okja, starring Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal, had been booed by some in the audience after the Netflix logo appeared at the beginning.
But it then became clear the film was playing in the wrong aspect ratio.
The film has been controversial because producer Netflix has refused to screen it in French cinemas.
After the jeers, the movie was stopped and restarted without explanation.
Some film journalists in the screening uploaded videos of the heckling on social media.
The BBC's Lauren Turner, who was at the screening, said: "There was shouting from the upper seats and it became apparent the aspect ratio was wrong, so they restarted it after about 10 minutes.
"The second time around the audience booed the Netflix logo again. But there was also some cheering at the same time and a warm round of applause at the end."
A statement from the Cannes Film Festival said: "This incident was entirely the responsibility of the Festival's technical service, which offers its apologies to the director and his team, to the producers and the audience."
On Thursday, there was also some booing when the Amazon logo came up at the beginning of Wonderstruck, which stars Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams.
Earlier this week, Cannes jury chair Pedro Almodovar said he agreed that films should have to be screened in cinemas if producers want them to be considered.
Indiewire film critic David Ehrlich tweeted: "Okja starts, huge boos at Netflix logo. Then film plays in wrong aspect ratio and Grand Lumiere almost rioted. Movie stopped."
The Telegraph's Robbie Collin wrote: "Cannes making an A+ case for the primacy of the cinema experience by projecting the first ten mins of Okja in the wrong aspect ratio."
Blogger Elena Lazic said: "That didn't start well. Screen not open properly, significantly cropped at top... the boos at the Netflix logo were immediately followed by boos at the terrible projection."
The film is a South Korean-American adventure movie about a young girl named Mija who tries to prevent a multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend, a genetically engineered super-pig named Okja.
Speaking after the film, director Bong Joon Ho said he "loved working with Netflix", adding it was a luxury to be given such a huge budget for it.
Swinton said: "It's an enormous and really interesting conversation that's beginning. But I think, as in many matters, there's room for everybody."
Gyllenhaal added: "It's important to have artistic expression in whatever form we can.
"Debate is essential always. It's a useful thing to have this discussion about how art is perceived and distributed."
Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39972987
Okja, starring Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal, had been booed by some in the audience after the Netflix logo appeared at the beginning.
But it then became clear the film was playing in the wrong aspect ratio.
The film has been controversial because producer Netflix has refused to screen it in French cinemas.
After the jeers, the movie was stopped and restarted without explanation.
Some film journalists in the screening uploaded videos of the heckling on social media.
The BBC's Lauren Turner, who was at the screening, said: "There was shouting from the upper seats and it became apparent the aspect ratio was wrong, so they restarted it after about 10 minutes.
"The second time around the audience booed the Netflix logo again. But there was also some cheering at the same time and a warm round of applause at the end."
A statement from the Cannes Film Festival said: "This incident was entirely the responsibility of the Festival's technical service, which offers its apologies to the director and his team, to the producers and the audience."
On Thursday, there was also some booing when the Amazon logo came up at the beginning of Wonderstruck, which stars Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams.
Earlier this week, Cannes jury chair Pedro Almodovar said he agreed that films should have to be screened in cinemas if producers want them to be considered.
Indiewire film critic David Ehrlich tweeted: "Okja starts, huge boos at Netflix logo. Then film plays in wrong aspect ratio and Grand Lumiere almost rioted. Movie stopped."
The Telegraph's Robbie Collin wrote: "Cannes making an A+ case for the primacy of the cinema experience by projecting the first ten mins of Okja in the wrong aspect ratio."
Blogger Elena Lazic said: "That didn't start well. Screen not open properly, significantly cropped at top... the boos at the Netflix logo were immediately followed by boos at the terrible projection."
The film is a South Korean-American adventure movie about a young girl named Mija who tries to prevent a multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend, a genetically engineered super-pig named Okja.
Speaking after the film, director Bong Joon Ho said he "loved working with Netflix", adding it was a luxury to be given such a huge budget for it.
Swinton said: "It's an enormous and really interesting conversation that's beginning. But I think, as in many matters, there's room for everybody."
Gyllenhaal added: "It's important to have artistic expression in whatever form we can.
"Debate is essential always. It's a useful thing to have this discussion about how art is perceived and distributed."
Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39972987
Label: actor, artist, family, film, news
Ex-congressman Anthony Weiner pleads guilty to sexting
Former New York congressman Anthony Weiner has tearfully pleaded guilty to sending obscene material to a minor.
He must register as a sex offender and faces a possible prison term for exchanging explicit texts with a 15-year-old girl last year.
The 52-year-old's estranged wife, Huma Abedin, filed for divorce on Friday after seven years of marriage.
Weiner quit Congress in 2011 over a sex scandal and was again exposed in his 2013 run for New York mayor.
He was reportedly wearing his wedding band as he entered his plea on Friday morning at a Manhattan court.
Weiner was released on bail, pending sentencing on 8 September.
As part of his plea agreement, federal prosecutors said they would consider a term between 21-27 months "fair and appropriate".
Weiner cried in court as he said: "I have a sickness, but I don't have an excuse."
He acknowledged it was "morally wrong" and unlawful to have knowingly sent obscene messages between January and March last year to a North Carolina girl whom he knew to be 15 years old.
Weiner paused to compose himself as he read from a letter he prepared for his plea.
"Beginning with my service in Congress and continuing into the first half of last year," his statement said, "I have compulsively sought attention from women who contacted me on social media.
"These destructive impulses brought great devastation to my family and friends, and destroyed my life's dream of public service.
"And yet I remained in denial as the world around me fell apart."
He went on: "This fall, I came to grips for the first time with the depths of my sickness. I had hit bottom."
Acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon H Kim praised the work of the FBI and the special victims' division of the New York City Police Department.
"Weiner's conduct was not only reprehensible, but a federal crime, one for which he is now convicted and will be sentenced," Mr Kim said.
Weiner's sexting scandal made headlines during last year's US presidential election.
During an investigation, FBI officials found emails on Weiner's laptop from his ex-wife, Ms Abedin, who was a top aide to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
An FBI investigation into Mrs Clinton's private use of email while she was secretary of state was closed after officials said nothing incriminating was found.
Anthony Weiner: Behind the scenes of a political marriage
The FBI began investigating Weiner last September after the Daily Mail reported that he had exchanged lewd messages with the North Carolina teenager.
The girl said he had asked her to undress on camera.
The girl's father told the British newspaper after Friday's plea deal was announced: "I don't know if it's justice.
"Just because he's pleading guilty doesn't mean he's going to do a bit of time."
A month earlier, Ms Abedin announced she was separating from her husband after it emerged he sent a photo of himself in his underpants with his toddler son nearby.
The New York Post reported that Weiner had sent sexual messages along with the alleged photo to an unidentified woman in 2015.
Once a rising Democratic star, he stepped down from Congress in June 2011 after a graphic image sent from his Twitter account went public.
Initially claiming his account was hacked, he eventually confessed to having lied.
Weiner also admitted indulging in explicit online exchanges with at least six other women and pledged to seek therapy.
He tried to revive his political career in 2013 by running for mayor of New York.
But his campaign imploded amid reports of further graphic online messages.
Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39979399
He must register as a sex offender and faces a possible prison term for exchanging explicit texts with a 15-year-old girl last year.
The 52-year-old's estranged wife, Huma Abedin, filed for divorce on Friday after seven years of marriage.
Weiner quit Congress in 2011 over a sex scandal and was again exposed in his 2013 run for New York mayor.
He was reportedly wearing his wedding band as he entered his plea on Friday morning at a Manhattan court.
Weiner was released on bail, pending sentencing on 8 September.
As part of his plea agreement, federal prosecutors said they would consider a term between 21-27 months "fair and appropriate".
Weiner cried in court as he said: "I have a sickness, but I don't have an excuse."
He acknowledged it was "morally wrong" and unlawful to have knowingly sent obscene messages between January and March last year to a North Carolina girl whom he knew to be 15 years old.
Weiner paused to compose himself as he read from a letter he prepared for his plea.
"Beginning with my service in Congress and continuing into the first half of last year," his statement said, "I have compulsively sought attention from women who contacted me on social media.
"These destructive impulses brought great devastation to my family and friends, and destroyed my life's dream of public service.
"And yet I remained in denial as the world around me fell apart."
He went on: "This fall, I came to grips for the first time with the depths of my sickness. I had hit bottom."
Acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon H Kim praised the work of the FBI and the special victims' division of the New York City Police Department.
"Weiner's conduct was not only reprehensible, but a federal crime, one for which he is now convicted and will be sentenced," Mr Kim said.
Weiner's sexting scandal made headlines during last year's US presidential election.
During an investigation, FBI officials found emails on Weiner's laptop from his ex-wife, Ms Abedin, who was a top aide to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
An FBI investigation into Mrs Clinton's private use of email while she was secretary of state was closed after officials said nothing incriminating was found.
Anthony Weiner: Behind the scenes of a political marriage
The FBI began investigating Weiner last September after the Daily Mail reported that he had exchanged lewd messages with the North Carolina teenager.
The girl said he had asked her to undress on camera.
The girl's father told the British newspaper after Friday's plea deal was announced: "I don't know if it's justice.
"Just because he's pleading guilty doesn't mean he's going to do a bit of time."
A month earlier, Ms Abedin announced she was separating from her husband after it emerged he sent a photo of himself in his underpants with his toddler son nearby.
The New York Post reported that Weiner had sent sexual messages along with the alleged photo to an unidentified woman in 2015.
Once a rising Democratic star, he stepped down from Congress in June 2011 after a graphic image sent from his Twitter account went public.
Initially claiming his account was hacked, he eventually confessed to having lied.
Weiner also admitted indulging in explicit online exchanges with at least six other women and pledged to seek therapy.
He tried to revive his political career in 2013 by running for mayor of New York.
But his campaign imploded amid reports of further graphic online messages.
Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39979399
Label: crime, family, film, freedom, law, news
Rabu, 17 Mei 2017
Nigeria Chibok girls: Lone schoolgirl escapes Boko Haram captivity
A schoolgirl who was abducted by Nigeria's militant Islamists in 2014 has escaped from captivity, a presidential aide has told the BBC.
The girl was found by government troops while she was escaping, Femi Adesina said, without giving details.
She was among 276 girls seized by Boko Haram from north-eastern Chibok town in 2014, sparking global outrage.
A total of 103 of the girls have been released so far, including 82 earlier this month in a prisoner swap.
The 82 girls, who met Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on 7 May, are expected to be reunited with their families later this week.
They were escorted to a reception in the capital Abuja by armed soldiers, after a check-up at a medical centre.
"I cannot express in a few words how happy I am to welcome our dear girls back to freedom," Mr Buhari told the girls in Abuja, according to his office.
"On behalf of all Nigerians, I will like to share my joy with you."
The number of Boko Haram suspects released by the authorities in exchange for the girls remains unknown.
Last month, President Buhari said the government remained "in constant touch through negotiations, through local intelligence, to secure the release of the remaining girls and other abducted persons unharmed".
Aside from the Chibok girls, Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of other people during its eight-year insurgency, which is aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in north-eastern Nigeria.
The government says more than 30,000 people have been killed, and hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes.
Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39954433
The girl was found by government troops while she was escaping, Femi Adesina said, without giving details.
She was among 276 girls seized by Boko Haram from north-eastern Chibok town in 2014, sparking global outrage.
A total of 103 of the girls have been released so far, including 82 earlier this month in a prisoner swap.
The 82 girls, who met Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on 7 May, are expected to be reunited with their families later this week.
They were escorted to a reception in the capital Abuja by armed soldiers, after a check-up at a medical centre.
"I cannot express in a few words how happy I am to welcome our dear girls back to freedom," Mr Buhari told the girls in Abuja, according to his office.
"On behalf of all Nigerians, I will like to share my joy with you."
The number of Boko Haram suspects released by the authorities in exchange for the girls remains unknown.
Last month, President Buhari said the government remained "in constant touch through negotiations, through local intelligence, to secure the release of the remaining girls and other abducted persons unharmed".
Aside from the Chibok girls, Boko Haram has kidnapped thousands of other people during its eight-year insurgency, which is aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in north-eastern Nigeria.
The government says more than 30,000 people have been killed, and hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes.
Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39954433
Label: child, crime, film, health, news
Cannes Film Festival: Will Smith and Pedro Almodovar clash over Netflix
The row over Netflix's place at Cannes has been reignited by its jury on the first day of the prestigious festival.
For the first time, two Netflix films are competing for the Palme d'Or this year.
However from next year, films will have to be released in French cinemas if they want to be considered.
Jury president Pedro Almodovar agreed with the change, saying films should always be seen on the big screen and he was "concerned" about the issue.
Tilda Swinton film Okja, and The Meyerowitz Stories - starring British actress Emma Thompson and Ben Stiller - are the first Netflix films to be shown at Cannes which are up for the main prize.
The jury, which is also made up of Will Smith, Jessica Chastain and Paolo Sorrentino, will pick the Palme d'Or winner out of the 19 films in competition next weekend.
Almodovar gave a passionate defence of cinema at the festival's opening press conference, saying he didn't think films should be considered for prizes if they had not had a cinema release.
Reading from a pre-prepared statement, he said: "All this doesn't mean I'm not open, or don't celebrate the new technology and the possibilities they offer to us.
"But while I'm alive, I will be fighting for the one thing the new generation is not aware of - the capacity of hypnosis of a large screen for a viewer."
The Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown director said he could not conceive the Palme d'Or - or any other prize - "being given to a film and then not being able to see the film on a big screen".
He was applauded by the audience for his strong remarks.
But Men in Black star Smith - giving an exuberant press conference performance in his debut as a jury member - disagreed with the cinema great.
The star, who has a film in the works with the streaming giant, said his children both go to the movies twice a week and watch Netflix.
"There's very little cross between going to the cinema and watching what they watch on Netflix," he mused, saying they were "two different forms of entertainment" and that Netflix "brings a great amount of connectivity".
Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39954563
For the first time, two Netflix films are competing for the Palme d'Or this year.
However from next year, films will have to be released in French cinemas if they want to be considered.
Jury president Pedro Almodovar agreed with the change, saying films should always be seen on the big screen and he was "concerned" about the issue.
Tilda Swinton film Okja, and The Meyerowitz Stories - starring British actress Emma Thompson and Ben Stiller - are the first Netflix films to be shown at Cannes which are up for the main prize.
The jury, which is also made up of Will Smith, Jessica Chastain and Paolo Sorrentino, will pick the Palme d'Or winner out of the 19 films in competition next weekend.
Almodovar gave a passionate defence of cinema at the festival's opening press conference, saying he didn't think films should be considered for prizes if they had not had a cinema release.
Reading from a pre-prepared statement, he said: "All this doesn't mean I'm not open, or don't celebrate the new technology and the possibilities they offer to us.
"But while I'm alive, I will be fighting for the one thing the new generation is not aware of - the capacity of hypnosis of a large screen for a viewer."
The Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown director said he could not conceive the Palme d'Or - or any other prize - "being given to a film and then not being able to see the film on a big screen".
He was applauded by the audience for his strong remarks.
But Men in Black star Smith - giving an exuberant press conference performance in his debut as a jury member - disagreed with the cinema great.
The star, who has a film in the works with the streaming giant, said his children both go to the movies twice a week and watch Netflix.
"There's very little cross between going to the cinema and watching what they watch on Netflix," he mused, saying they were "two different forms of entertainment" and that Netflix "brings a great amount of connectivity".
Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39954563
Label: actor, artist, family, film, news
