King Charles to welcome Prince Harry, Meghan Markle back into the Firm in 2023? - Geo News

There are speculations that the rift between the royal family and the Sussexes could be healed as the British monarchy would have Prince Harry and Meghan Markle back - offering a glimmer of hope as the nation begins a new year.

Britain's new monarch is reportedly keen to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Sussex back into the Firm, a source has claimed. 

Meghan and Harry, who left the royal jobs in 2020, have fired fierce criticism on the institution, making new shocking claims against palace.

However, Express UK, citing source, has claimed that the rift can be healed as the Firm would have the the couple back "in a heartbeat".

Commenting on the biographical documentary featuring the lives of Harry and Meghan and their relationship with the Royal Family, the source said that Prince William, rather than King Charles, was the main target of criticism.

They noted: "In Netflix, the villain of the piece had clearly moved on to being [William], the Prince of Wales. Harry and Meghan actually had some nice words to say around the King's role in helping them plan their wedding."

They added: "Are they saving their ire for the book instead? Who knows. You can't not feel sorry for Harry. He is fundamentally the product of a very damaged childhood. But you can also feel sorry for the individual and frustrated at the world he has created for himself, where he sees enemies at every turn.

"Despite it all, I know the institution would [still] have him back in a heartbeat."

It comes in the aftermath of Harry and Meghan's Netflix documentary release, and a few days ahead of the Duke's memoir release. 

Adblock test (Why?)

King Charles to welcome Prince Harry, Meghan Markle back into the Firm in 2023? - Geo News
Read More

Marie Osmond Shares Rare Photo with Husband Steve Craig at Disney World (and Surprise, She's Blonde!) - Yahoo News Canada

Marie Osmond Shares Rare Photo with Husband Steve Craig at Disney World — and Debuts New Hairstyle

Marie Osmond/Instagram

Marie Osmond is having some Disney fun with her family in style.

On Friday, the singer and actress, 63, shared a rare photo with her husband Steve Craig at Disney World and sported a new hairstyle in the process.

"After we finished the #CandlightCelebration at Epcot, I've been blessed to spend the week with my family here at Walt Disney World!🥰💕 I hope you have all had a relaxing and wonderful week!" she wrote in the Instagram caption.

RELATED: Paris and Nicky Hilton Go 'Undercover' at Disneyland, Plus More Celebs at Disney Parks!

Marie Osmond Shares Rare Photo with Husband Steve Craig at Disney World — and Debuts New Hairstyle

Marie Osmond/Instagram

Wearing a black long sleeve and black Mickey Mouse-printed pants, Osmond debuted her new shorter blonde hair, which is a departure from her long brunette locks.

All smiles with her husband, Osmond poses for a pic with Craig, who wrapped his arm around his wife. In the second photo, The Talk former co-host snapped an adorable shot of Craig and her grandchildren holding hands as they walked through the theme park.

RELATED: Marie Osmond Opens Up About Remarrying Her First Husband: 'God Has HIs Timing'

In 2011, Osmond remarried Craig 26 years after they divorced in 1985, first marrying in 1982.

Before she reconnected with her husband, the Donny & Marie star married actor Brian Blosil in 1986 and divorced after more than 20 years in 2007.

marieosmond2

Jana Cruder

RELATED: Marie Osmond Faced Her Fears Recording New Album Unexpected: 'I've Never Been Been Afraid to Take Chances'

Osmond, now a grandmother of 8, confirmed to PEOPLE in 2019 that her daughter Brianna, 23, and her cinematographer husband Dave Schwep, 44, had welcomed a baby girl.

The longtime entertainer also has three other daughters, Jessica, 31, Rachael, 30, and Abigail, 16, as well as four sons, including Stephen, 38, Brandon, 24, Matthew, 22, and Michael, who died by suicide at 19.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In 2019, Osmond opened up to PEOPLE about remarrying Craig.

"Nothing is an accident," Osmond told PEOPLE at the time. "I am a spiritual person. So [I believe] God has his timing."

After her painful divorce from Blosil, Osmond shared, "I never wanted to be married again. I was like, 'I'm fine, I'm good!'" So when she reconnected with Craig through their son Stephen, it was an unexpected surprise."

"The thing about a second marriage is that you realize things you thought were so important, aren't," Osmond said. "I love being with my husband. He is the sweetest man I know. He lives to serve and really listens to people's needs."

Eventually, "Stephen was getting married and we [realized] we can't go to our son's wedding and not be married," she told PEOPLE. "So we got married a few months before he did. He joked that he never thought it would happen, but it did!"

Adblock test (Why?)

Marie Osmond Shares Rare Photo with Husband Steve Craig at Disney World (and Surprise, She's Blonde!) - Yahoo News Canada
Read More

TV host Barbara Walters dies at 93 - CTV News

NEW YORK -

Barbara Walters, the intrepid interviewer, anchor and program host who led the way as the first woman to become a TV news superstar during a network career remarkable for its duration and variety, has died. She was 93.

Walters' death was announced by ABC on air Friday night.

"Barbara Walters passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by loved ones. She lived her life with no regrets. She was a trailblazer not only for female journalists, but for all women," her publicist Cindi Berger also said in a statement.

An ABC spokesperson did not have an immediate comment Friday night beyond sharing a statement from Bob Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC.

During nearly four decades at ABC, and before that at NBC, Walters' exclusive interviews with rulers, royalty and entertainers brought her celebrity status that ranked with theirs, while placing her at the forefront of the trend in broadcast journalism that made stars of TV reporters and brought news programs into the race for higher ratings.

Walters made headlines in 1976 as the first female network news anchor, with an unprecedented $1 million annual salary that drew gasps. Her drive was legendary as she competed -- not just with rival networks, but with colleagues at her own network -- for each big "get" in a world jammed with more and more interviewers, including female journalists who followed the trail she blazed.

"I never expected this!" Walters said in 2004, taking measure of her success. "I always thought I'd be a writer for television. I never even thought I'd be in front of a camera."

But she was a natural on camera, especially when plying notables with questions.

"I'm not afraid when I'm interviewing, I have no fear!" Walters told The Associated Press in 2008.

In a voice that never lost its trace of her native Boston accent or its substitution of Ws-for-Rs, Walters lobbed blunt and sometimes giddy questions at each subject, often sugarcoating them with a hushed, reverential delivery.

"Offscreen, do you like you?" she once asked actor John Wayne, while Lady Bird Johnson was asked whether she was jealous of her late husband's reputation as a ladies' man.

Late in her career, in 1997, she gave infotainment a new twist with "The View," a live ABC weekday kaffee klatsch with an all-female panel for whom any topic was on the table and who welcomed guests ranging from world leaders to teen idols. A side venture and unexpected hit, Walters considered "The View" the "dessert" of her career.

In May 2014, she taped her final episode of "The View" amid much ceremony and a gathering of scores of luminaries to end a five-decade career in television (although she continued to make occasional TV appearances after that). During a commercial break, a throng of TV newswomen she had paved the way for -- including Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Robin Roberts and Connie Chung -- posed with her for a group portrait.

"I have to remember this on the bad days," Walters said quietly, "because this is the best."

Her career began with no such signs of majesty.

In 1961 NBC hired her for a short-term writing project on the "Today" show. Shortly after that, what was seen as the token woman's slot among the staff's eight writers opened, and Walters got the job. Then she began to make occasional on-air appearances with offbeat stories such as "A Day in the Life of a Nun" or the tribulations of a Playboy bunny. For the latter, she donned bunny ears and high heels to work at the Playboy Club.

As she appeared more frequently, she was spared the title of "Today" Girl that had been attached to her token female predecessors. But she had to pay her dues, sometimes sprinting across the "Today" set between interviews to do dog food commercials.

She had the first interview with Rose Kennedy after the assassination of her son, Robert, as well as with Princess Grace of Monaco, President Richard Nixon and many others. She traveled to India with Jacqueline Kennedy, to China with Nixon and to Iran to cover the shah's gala party. But she faced a setback in 1971 with the arrival of a new host, Frank McGee. Although they could share the desk, he insisted she wait for him to ask three questions before she could open her mouth during joint interviews with "powerful persons."

Sensing greater freedom and opportunities awaited her outside the studio, she hit the road and produced more exclusive interviews for the program, including Nixon chief of staff H.R. Haldeman.

By 1976, she had been granted the title of "Today" co-host and was earning $700,000 a year. But when ABC signed her to a $5 million, five-year contract, the salary figure branded her "the million-dollar baby."

Reports of her deal failed to note that her job duties would be split between the network's entertainment division (for which she was expected to do interview specials) and ABC News, then mired in third place. Meanwhile, Harry Reasoner, her seasoned "ABC Evening News" co-anchor, was said to resent her high salary and celebrity orientation.

"Harry didn't want a partner," Walters summed up. "Even though he was awful to me, I don't think he disliked me."

It wasn't just the shaky relationship with her co-anchor that brought Walters problems.

Comedian Gilda Radner satirized her on the new "Saturday Night Live" as a rhotacistic commentator named "Baba Wawa." And after her interview with a newly elected President Jimmy Carter in which Walters told Carter "be wise with us," CBS correspondent Morley Safer publicly derided her as "the first female pope blessing the new cardinal."

It was a period that seemed to mark the end of everything she'd worked for, she later recalled.

"I thought it was all over: `How stupid of me ever to have left NBC!"'

But salvation arrived in the form of a new boss, ABC News president Roone Arledge, who moved her out of the co-anchor slot and into special projects for ABC News. Meanwhile, she found success with her quarterly prime-time interview specials. She became a frequent contributor to ABC's newsmagazine "20/20," joining forces with then-host Hugh Downs, and in 1984, became co-host. A perennial favorite was her review of the year's "10 Most Fascinating People."

Walters is survived by her only daughter, Jacqueline Danforth.

------

Moore, a longtime Associated Press television writer who retired in 2017, was the principal writer of this obituary. Associated Press journalist Stefanie Dazio contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

In this May 7, 1975 file photo, Cuba's leader Fidel Castro, centre right, responds to a question from American NBC reporter Barbara Walters at a news conference granted to members of the U.S. press covering Sen. George McGovern's trip to Cuba, in Havana, Cuba. (AP Photo, File) 

 

This May 8, 1980 file photo, former U.S. president Richard M. Nixon answers question during interview by ABC television personality Barbara Walters in New York. (AP Photo/Ray Stubblebine, File) 

 

In this Sept. 28, 1994 file photo, 'Entertainment Tonight' co-host Mary Hart, left, talks with Barbara Walters during a reception at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Nadel) 

Adblock test (Why?)

TV host Barbara Walters dies at 93 - CTV News
Read More

Miley Cyrus says Dolly Parton 'clutched her pearls' when she wanted to dye her hair - Yahoo Canada Shine On

Miley Cyrus shared that she recently saw her godmother, Dolly Parton, scared for the first time. (Photo by: Vijat Mohindra/NBC via Getty Images)

Miley Cyrus won't be ditching her blonde hair any time soon.

In a new clip from an appearance on NBC's upcoming "A Toast to 2022!" New Year's Eve special, the 30-year-old singer shared how Dolly Parton, 76, reacted after she suggested changing her own appearance.

"I've never seen Dolly actually scared before," Cyrus told "Today" host Hoda Kotb, 58. "But I told her, 'At the end of the year, I just really want to do something different. I think I'm going to dye my hair brunette.' She acted like I told her the worst news you can imagine. She clutched her pearls, gasped and went back, and she goes, 'You can't do that. You are me.'"

"I am somehow some extension of Dolly Parton where she looked like I had just given her the worst news you've ever heard. So, I will be blonde. We will be either complementing each other, matching or being completely the opposite, because me and Dolly, she says, 'You be you, I be me and together, we've got the perfect show.'"

Miley Cyrus (left) and Dolly Parton are joining up to co-host "Miley's New Year's Eve Party," an NBC special airing on Dec. 31 at 10:30 p.m. ET. (Photo by: Vijat Mohindra/NBC via Getty Images)

During the interview, Cyrus also opened up about her 20s and her New Year's resolution for 2023.

"I guess my resolution would really be — my instinct is very loud, but I'm not a great listener sometimes," Cyrus explained. "Dolly was telling me, her husband (Carl Thomas Dean) says, 'You're not hard of hearing. You're hard of listening.' And I guess that would kind of be my resolution, to not just listen to myself, but listen to others."

The "Hannah Montana" alum then shared how she feels now that she's entered her 30s.

"I always say that my truth, and the opposite of what that is, is also true. Somehow I'm completely different, and then somehow I'm exactly the same," Cyrus added. "Now, in my 30s — I mean, my 20s were so much fun. If you don't believe me, I think you can Google it."

Cyrus's appearance on "A Toast to 2022!" will precede her own second-ever NBC special, "Miley's New Year's Eve Party," where she'll co-host alongside Parton. A range of performers — including Sia, Latto and Fletcher — will also help the superstars ring in the new year.

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Adblock test (Why?)

Miley Cyrus says Dolly Parton 'clutched her pearls' when she wanted to dye her hair - Yahoo Canada Shine On
Read More

Allison Mack joined NXIVM to become a 'great actress again' - Yahoo Canada

Actress Allison Mack leaves Brooklyn Federal Courthouse after facing charges regarding sex trafficking and racketeering related to the NXIVM cult case. (Photo: Reuters)

An unearthed interview with Allison Mack is making headlines as the Smallville star talked more about why she joined NXIVM. In 2021, Mack was sentenced to three years in prison for her role in Keith Raniere's criminal organization that's been dubbed a "sex cult."

Journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis spoke with Mack and Raniere in 2017, weeks before he was indicted for sex-trafficking, racketeering and other crimes. On her new podcast Infamous: Inside America's Biggest Scandals, Grigoriadis plays the interviews for the first time which were conducted at NXIVM's secret hideout in Mexico.

"I moved to Albany to fill that emptiness and find the soul of myself again, if that makes sense, as it had fizzled," Mack says in an excerpt obtained by Page Six. (NXIVM's headquarters was there in New York.) "I asked Keith if he would help me become a great actress again because I felt like I was a fraud."

Raniere co-founded NXIVM in 1998 and touted the organization as a self-improvement group. It attracted a number of famous and wealthy members, like Mack. The actress rose in the ranks and became one of Raniere's closest confidants, recruiting women to join the cultlike group. Within NXIVM was a secret sorority composed of "slaves" and "masters." Mack enlisted some of the "slaves" to engage in sexual acts with Raniere, according to statements from some of the women. Victims were branded with Mack and Raniere's initials. In the 2017 interview, Mack denied any wrongdoing and told Grigoriadis that Raniere was "not the head of a harem."

"I'm not recruiting young, nubile women to be his sex slaves," Mack said. "You know, it's The Crucible, it's the McCarthy trials, it's just like, throwing accusations and spreading like wildfire."

Mack admitted friends were concerned that she was "brainwashed" and involved in a cult.

"I'm like, 'Talk to me for a few minutes. Let me tell you what we're doing,'" the Honey We Shrunk Ourselves star continued.

"I just was like walking with myself and I was going like, 'Am I crazy? Am I one of these awful people that you read about that does horrible things and thinks that she’s doing things for God?' I had a lot of conversations with myself like that," Mack added.

"Ultimately, I just sat down and I like looked at my life and I looked at my relationships and I looked at all of the things I had written, journals that I had kept — things that I had done over the last few years. And it was so consistently good," she explained.

Mack ultimately took responsibility for her role in NXIVM's illegal operation. In 2019, she pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and racketeering as part of a deal with prosecutors.

"I am so sorry," Mack wrote in a letter ahead of sentencing. "I threw myself into the teachings of Keith Raniere with everything I had. I believed, whole-heartedly, that his mentorship was leading me to a better, more enlightened version of myself. I devoted my loyalty, my resources, and, ultimately, my life to him. This was the biggest mistake and greatest regret of my life."

Mack apologized to "those of you that I brought into NXIVM."

"I am sorry I ever exposed you to the nefarious and emotionally abusive schemes of a twisted man. I am sorry that I encouraged you to use your resources to participate in something that was ultimately so ugly," she continued. "I do not take lightly the responsibility I have in the lives of those I love and I feel a heavy weight of guilt for having misused your trust, leading you down a negative path. I am sorry to those of you whom I spoke to in a harsh or hurtful way. At the time, I believed I was helping. I believed in tough love and thought it was the path to personal empowerment. I was so confused. I never want to be someone who is considered mean, but those aspects of my humanity have been revealed in all of this; it has been devastating to reconcile."

Mack added, "I have experienced overwhelming shame as I have worked to accept and understand all that went on and all that I chose."

The actress also apologized to family and friends who tried "to show me the truth about NXIVM and Keith, but I didn't listen."

"The list of those harmed by the collateral damage of my destructive choices continues to grow as I become more and more aware of how my choices have affected those around me. I am grateful that I have made it through this process alive and that I was stopped when I was," she concluded. "Please know that I am dedicated to spending my life working to mend the hearts I broke and continuing to transform myself into a more loving and compassionate woman."

Mack faced a maximum of 40 years in prison, 20 years on each count, but was only given three as she helped prosecutors with their case against Raniere. He was sentenced to 120 years behind bars, which an appeals court just upheld.

MORE: See the trailer for the new season of HBO's The Vow

Adblock test (Why?)

Allison Mack joined NXIVM to become a 'great actress again' - Yahoo Canada
Read More

‘Glass Onion’ Lands With a Splash on Netflix, But Not in Its Top 5 Film Debuts - Hollywood Reporter

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the Rian Johnson film that renewed the conversation over the coexistence of theaters and streaming services, has become Netflix’s sixth biggest film debut.

Glass Onion was streamed 82.1 million hours in the first three days since bowing Dec. 23, the streaming service said Tuesday. That puts it behind Sandra Bullock’s The Unforgivable (85.86. million hours) and The Gray Man, the pricey Ryan Gosling-Chris Evans feature that bowed to 88.55 million hours in July. Those films stand Netflix’s No. 5 and No. 4 debuts, respectively, since since the streamer began releasing such records in 2021.

Related Stories

Rounding out the top five are Red Notice (148.72 million hours), Don’t Look Up (111.03 million hours) and The Adam Project (92.43 million hours).

Johnson pushed for Glass Onion to have a noteworthy theatrical component, and it became the first Netflix title to receive a theatrical release from all three major chains (AMC Theatres, Cinemark Theatres and Regal Cinemas). Netflix did not report grosses, but distribution sources told The Hollywood Reporter at the time that it brought in around $13 million over the five-day holiday, a strong number for a feature bowing in under 700 theaters, though the film left millions on the table by not getting a traditional theatrical release. It departed theaters after one week.

The first Knives Out, released by Lionsgate theatrically in 2019, was a sleeper hit and grossed $41.4 million from 3,461 locations over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday. 

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos ruffled feathers among theater owners when he downplayed the film’s theatrical component shortly after announcing plans.

“There are all kinds of debates all the time, back and forth. But there is no question internally that we make our movies for our members, and we really want them to see them on Netflix,” Sarandos said during an earnings call Oct. 18. “Most people watch movies at home.”

Johnson has spoken about wishing the film would have returned to theaters, a desire that did not materialize. Said the filmmaker in early December: “Any theaters we can get it into at any point, I’m pushing for … I want more people to have the opportunity to be able to watch it.”

As part of a year-end wrap released Tuesday, Netflix unveiled that its most watched films, based on 28-day viewing frames, were The Gray Man, The Adam Project, Purple Hearts, Hustle and The Tinder Swindler — among English-language titles. The non-English-language top five movies were Troll, All Quiet on the Western Front, Black Crab, Through My Window and The Takedown.

Adblock test (Why?)

‘Glass Onion’ Lands With a Splash on Netflix, But Not in Its Top 5 Film Debuts - Hollywood Reporter
Read More

Tearful Kim Kardashian shares new shocking details about split from Kanye West and kids reactions - Geo News

American TV star Kim Kardashian broke down in tears over co-parenting with ex-husband Kanye West, revealing their four kids ‘don’t know anything’ about controversy.

Kim, 42, reflected on her co-parenting struggles with the rapper in an emotional interview, admitting that 'it’s been hard' bringing up their kids together since their divorce.

She sat down for tell-all interview with Angie Martinez on her IRL Podcast to discuss what it has been like co-parenting with Kanye and trying to shield their children from the drama, saying: "I definitely protected him and I still will. In the eyes of my kids – for my kids."

She added: "So in my home, my kids don’t anything that goes on in the outside world and I’ve managed to- I’m holding on by a thread and I know I’m so close to that not happening, but while it’s still that way, I will protect that to the end of the Earth as long as I can."

"My kids, they don’t know anything,’ adding that her ‘best friends’ are teachers at her children’s school so she’s aware of conversations her kids are having during breaks. None of the [other] kids have ever said anything to my kids," she revealed.

Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian's sister went on: "When stuff’s going down I protect stuff as far as the TVs and the content that’s on. It is [a fulltime job]."

She admitted: "[It’s] worth it because of course I want to disassociate in specific thoughts and things being said because that’s not me, but at the same time in my home, I could be going through something but if we’re riding to school and they want to listen to their dad’s music, no matter what is going on in the world, I have to have that smile on my face and blast his music and singalong and act like nothing’s wrong. As soon as I drop them off I can have a good cry."

At this point, Kim became emotional and broke down in tears while saying: "I had the best dad – I don’t want to get emotional, it’s just been a day for me. It’s hard. Co-parenting is really f*****g hard."

Kanye and Kim - who share four children North, nine, Saint, seven, Chicago, four, and Psalm, three - ended her marriage with the Grammy-winning rapper in February 2021 after seven years, and their divorce was recently finalised.

Adblock test (Why?)

Tearful Kim Kardashian shares new shocking details about split from Kanye West and kids reactions - Geo News
Read More

BANISHED! King Charles bars Prince Andrew from Buckingham Palace - Toronto Sun

Article content

Disgraced Prince Andrew has now been booted out of Buckingham Palace by his brother, King Charles.

Article content

The 62-year-old Puke of York fell out of favour after he was ensnared in the Jeffrey Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking scandal.

Article content

Andrew shelled out nearly $20 million in an out-of-court settlement to Virginia Roberts who claimed she had underage sex with the randy royal on three occasions. He has denied wrongdoing.

But the damage is done.

Now, The UK Sun reports that Andrew — forced to resign from the Royal Family in 2020 — has lost his office at Buckingham Palace.

King Charles III – State Opening Of Parliament As Prince Charles – October 14th 2019 – Getty Bang Showbiz

“Any presence at the Palace is officially over,” a source told the newspaper. “The King has made it clear. He isn’t a working royal. He’s on his own.”

It’s a stark contrast to the late Queen Elizabeth’s handling of her favourite son’s woes. She allowed Andrew to continue using the palace with a small staff after he resigned in shame.

Article content

The King has taken a different route, disallowing his younger brother from even using the palace as his address.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Photo by HANDOUT /US DEPT. OF JUSTICE

Andrew’s dramatic plunge into disfavour began with the notorious BBC interview where he stumbled and stammered and denied even knowing Virginia Roberts, an Epstein-Maxwell sex slave.

The public blowback was immediate — and ferocious.

Andrew was stripped of his titles and barred from wearing his military uniform to the Queen’s funeral. Sources said that after the beloved monarch died, Charles told his brother he would never return to the royal life.

A dog walker passes a quiet Buckingham Palace, in London, March 23, 2021. Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth / Files /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Last month, he was stripped of his 24-hour security service.

And on Wednesday, the King named Queen Consort Camilla the Colonel of the Grenadier Guards — a post Andrew once held.

Article content

However, the duke is expected to have Christmas dinner with King Charles and the rest of the royals. He has been allowed to keep his 31-bedroom and government-subsidized Royal Lodge at Windsor.

Buckingham Palace did not comment.

AFP via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Prince Andrew is reportedly fuming over losing his $5-million-per-year armed security staff. Media reports said the embattled royal argued bitterly to keep it.

However, the former chief superintendent who led the Met’s royalty protection unit, Dai Davies, said the money could be better used to solve crime in London.

“Why should we pander to this over-inflated egotist called Andrew?” Davies asked.

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun

Adblock test (Why?)

BANISHED! King Charles bars Prince Andrew from Buckingham Palace - Toronto Sun
Read More

The acclaimed film 'Decision to Leave' is on the 2023 Oscars Shortlist for International Feature Film - allkpop

Director Park Chan Wook's latest film 'Decision to Leave' has made the shortlist for International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which hosts the Oscars, announced the Shortlist of International Feature Film Awards, or the preliminary candidates, on December 21. The AMPAS selected 15 films as the preliminary candidates through the shortlist among the works submitted from 92 countries.

Along with 'Decision to Leave,' 'Argentina, 1985' (Argentina), 'Corsage' (Austria), 'Close' (Belgium), 'Return to Seoul' (Cambodia), 'Holy Spider' (Denmark), 'Saint Omer' (France), and 'All Quiet on the Western Front' (Germany) have made the shortlist.

When the final nominations for all Oscars categories are announced on January 24, 2023, the shortlist will be narrowed down to five final nominees. The 95th Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, USA, on March 12, 2023. 

Previously, 'Decision to Leave' was nominated for the Golden Globe Non-English Film Award and the Critics' Choice Foreign Language Film Award. 'Decision to Leave' is a melodramatic thriller about the story of Hae Jun (played by Park Hae il), a detective who is investigating a death case, but gets interested in Seorae (played by Tang Wei), the wife of the deceased, while still feeling suspicious of her.

Adblock test (Why?)

The acclaimed film 'Decision to Leave' is on the 2023 Oscars Shortlist for International Feature Film - allkpop
Read More

Jeopardy! execs open up about champ Ray LaLonde’s unusual on-air behavior after fans call the detail ‘... - The US Sun

JEOPARDY!’s newest multiday winner, Ray LaLonde, has been doing quite well on the game show but "distracting" viewers as he seemingly can't stand still.

Producers have embraced his unusual stage presence even if his swaying back and forth is "difficult to film."

5

Jeopardy!'s Ken Jennings is hosting Ray LaLonde's winning streakCredit: Jeopardy!

5

Producers brought up how Ray is swaying back and forth on stageCredit: ABC

Ray is a scenic artist from Ontario, Canada, who has won four games so far - making him eligible for next year's Tournament of Champions.

Jeopardy! viewers have been impressed by his chops but have taken to various online forums to vent about his winning moves in a more literal sense.

As the contestant responds to clues and keeps winning, he's also constantly swaying back and forth.

On the show's podcast Inside Jeopardy on Monday, longtime producer Sarah Foss began: "Ray, He kind of likes to move back and forth during his gameplay."

"Which is difficult for our camera operators."

"So he may or may not have gotten the nickname 'Ray the Sway.'"

"But Ray, however it is you like to win Jeopardy!, you do you!"

SWAY TO GO!

Though Jeopardy! is a contest of responding fastest to questions in the form of answers, not standing still the longest, fans have made it clear the swaying is apparent.

Most read in Entertainment

One viewer wrote to Twitter amid his streak: "Could one of the Jeopardy producers suggest to Ray that his twisting is distracting, please?"

"Can the Jeopardy! producers, PLEASE tell Ray to stand still," wrote another.

"I can’t even look at him when he’s on camera," agreed a third.

Though a fourth defended it's worked so far: "Hey whatever works."

Over on Facebook, hundreds of fans have mentioned the swaying as well.

According to TBS News Watch, the reasoning behind Ray's swaying is more than justified, it's due to a medical ailment.

The outlet wrote: "He suffered some spinal cord damage over a period of years, and had to work hard to prevent muscle spasms in his legs while he was on camera."

TWINNING!

The father-of-one won over fans on Monday's show when he wildly revealed that he's a twin and his sibling is "in the process of auditioning for Jeopardy! right now."

He joked: "There's a chance you're gonna be seeing this face again and again."

Ken Jennings, 48, questioned: "Have you guys considered just swapping in and out during your run without telling us?"

Ray quipped back: "How do you know we're not?"

The show's host laughed before joking: "We're going to have to start fingerprinting before every game."

Even Mattea Roach, 23-time champion from up north, gave their stamp of approval on Twitter.

"Canadian back at the champ’s podium today, I know that’s right!!" they wrote, adding they're watching all his episodes.

Over the summer, Ken and actress Mayim Bialik were officially announced as the permanent replacements for the late longtime host, Alex Trebek.

The hosting announcement hasn't been the only big move for Jeopardy!, as executive producer Michael Davies - who replaced the ousted Mike Richards - filled a job that before them, hadn't changed hands in decades either.

5

Jeopardy! producers revealed they've given Ray LaLonde the nickname "Ray the Sway" adding "you do you!"Credit: YouTube/Jeopardy

5

Ray is now the longest streak-holder since fan-favorite Cris PannulloCredit: ABC

5

Fellow Canadian Mattea Roach (23 wins) doesn't mind the swayingCredit: ABC/Twitter

Adblock test (Why?)

Jeopardy! execs open up about champ Ray LaLonde’s unusual on-air behavior after fans call the detail ‘... - The US Sun
Read More

Review: Sarah Polley's Women Talking is an all-too-studied choreography of dialogue - The Globe and Mail

Left to right: Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Judith Ivey, Sheila McCarthy, Michelle McLeod and Jessie Buckley in Women Talking.Michael Gibson/Orion - United Artists Releasing

• Women Talking
• Directed by Sarah Polley
• Written by Miriam Toews and Sarah Polley, based on the novel by Miriam Toews
• Starring Rooney Mara, Claire Foy and Jessie Buckley
• Classification PG
• 104 minutes

“What follows is an act of female imagination.” With this affirmation, so begin the opening scenes of Canadian writer-director Sarah Polley’s latest feature, Women Talking. Adapted from Manitoba-born author Miriam Toews’ celebrated novel of the same name, Polley’s onscreen reworking bears witness to a group of Mennonite women working through being drugged and sexually assaulted for years by the men of their isolated colony.

Women Talking is loosely based on real-life events that occurred during the 2000s within the Manitoba Colony – an ultraconservative Mennonite community in Bolivia – wherein women and girls were systematically violated by a group of men from their own community. Using an animal anesthetic to incapacitate their victims, these men blamed the violence on the machinations of the so-called “wild female imagination,” as well as the work of demons or other spectral figures.

It was a doubled gaslighting in which these women and girls were unable to remember what had happened to them and also unable to trust their own experiences of its aftermath. With Women Talking, we are presented with the reality, however fictionalized, of what follows once the full truth of such violence is confirmed.

For the women who we see onscreen, their options are limited: do nothing, stay and fight, or leave. What both Polley and Toews centre on is the intricacies of this collective decision-making. In this vein, Women Talking feels like an extended thought experiment with very real stakes – it is undoubtedly relevant to the continuing and necessary conversations regarding gendered violence and the social structures that both allow for it and enable it in the real world.

Left to right: Emily Mitchell, Claire Foy and Rooney Mara in Women Talking.Michael Gibson/Orion - United Artists Releasing

Refused access to any sort of formal education, the women here grapple with not only questions of forgiveness, accountability, vengeance and harm, but also the fact that they are in the midst of shaping the very language needed to talk about their experiences for the first time. With this comes the need to distinguish the purpose and function of the previously uninterrogated structures around them: What is the word of God, and what is the word of men of God who are masquerading as such? What is forgiveness, and what is only permission working within the guise of the former?

One of Women Talking’s best features is its ability to parse out language in a way that points to its intentional violence as well as its capacity – through collective criticism and reflection – to be retooled as a means for self-determination. It is this alchemy from one to the other that forms the heart of Polley’s film, which is rich in dialogue, for both better and worse.

Notable in its cast of many are Claire Foy as Salome – a mother whose four-year-old daughter has been assaulted, and who goes after the men involved with a scythe – and Michelle McLeod as the young Mejal, who endures largely in bitter silence despite her body’s own protestations. As characters, Salome and Mejal are emblematic of the myriad responses that may or may not emerge in the wake of such intimate violence. In their respective performances, Foy and McLeod burn brightly – the former with an emphatic and deserved rage, the latter with a more unassuming kind of emotional turbulence.

Under Polley’s direction, the women of Women Talking work off each other in an all-too-studied choreography of words, with welcome and unexpected moments of humour and liveliness from the women as well as two teenaged girls taking part in the proceedings. Witnessing the conversations among their elders unfold with equal measures of their own play and anger, these young girls (played by Liv McNeil and Kate Hallett) are much-needed audience surrogates in a staging that too often feels buoyed down by its own conscientiousness.

Rooney Mara in a scene from Women Talking.Michael Gibson/Orion - United Artists Releasing via AP

It is tough, as a critic, to ostensibly chastise a film for caring too much. But I would suggest that the fundamental disconnect of Women Talking is not in its women talking – in the ways that they talk or even what they talk about – but in the film’s inability to shape a world for these women and girls, through the use of its own means and methods, that speaks to the full textures and depths of their experiences.

Of course, one could point out several of the film’s most glaring missteps: the somewhat reductive nature of the film’s dialogue, the lack of care shown to the development of the story’s one transgender character, the dull pallor that suffuses the film’s visuals with a tired weight that it struggles to get out from under. But these criticisms would be all but symptoms of a method of storytelling and world-building that has only self-imposed these limitations.

It is a constraint of cinematic vision that flattens the potential of the figures, the speech, and the movements of Women Talking. It is less about what is being said here – flawed yet fierce as it is – and more that, in order to realize the full impact of its meaning, what is being said needs to fight through the film’s own lacklustre veneer to be able to convey itself with any sense of spirit.

The women and girls of Polley’s film speak across a spectrum of feeling, reminding us of the tenuous boundaries that delineate anger, shame, sadness or joy. It is unfortunate then that Women Talking refuses this same kind of oh-so-human beauty in its own construction and patterning.

Women Talking opens at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto Dec. 23; expands to select theatres Jan. 6

Plan your screen time with the weekly What to Watch newsletter. Sign up today.

Adblock test (Why?)

Review: Sarah Polley's Women Talking is an all-too-studied choreography of dialogue - The Globe and Mail
Read More

Justin Bieber says 'trash' H&M merchandise was made without his approval - CBC.ca

Justin Bieber has alleged in a social media post that fashion retailer H&M used his face to sell a new merchandise collection without his permission.

The collection features items including a sweatshirt, a canvas bag and a T-shirt dress with Bieber's face and song lyrics printed on them.

"I didn't approve any of the merch collection that they put up at H&M .. all without my permission and approval," Bieber wrote in an Instagram post on Monday evening.

"The H&M merch they made of me is trash and I didn't approve it," he said in a second post, then telling fans not to buy it.

Justin Bieber took to Instagram on Monday night to criticize Swedish fashion giant H&M for using his likeness on merchandise that he says he didn't approve. (Justin Bieber/Instagram)

"As with all other licensed products and partnerships, H&M followed proper approval procedures," H&M wrote in a statement to CBC News.

None of the items in question are currently sold on H&M's Canadian online store.

Bieber had previously partnered with the Swedish fashion giant on his Purpose touring merchandise in 2017 and its follow-up collection released the same year.

Adblock test (Why?)

Justin Bieber says 'trash' H&M merchandise was made without his approval - CBC.ca
Read More