Month: September 2021

Star Wars: Visions, which all nine episodes just premiered on Disney+, is one of the more, let’s say, different properties Lucasfilm has produced with the Star Wars branding. Basically, Lucasfilm handed over the world of Star Wars to many of the best Japanese anime studios, resulting in nine separate stories, set in the Star Wars galaxy, but with an entirely different aesthetic. In fact, only one of the nine episodes even has characters that we’ve met before.

The animation in Star Wars: Visions can be so engrossing, during the first episode it was only near the end did I realize that I had been sent the wrong screener – in that in my screener the characters were speaking Japanese with no subtitles, yet I felt like I was following the story pretty well, even though I do not speak Japanese. Ahead, we spoke to executive producer James Waugh and producer Kanako Shirasaki, who take us behind the scenes of this new Star Wars property and explain what they hope to achieve from combining Star Wars and anime.

I had an interesting experience watching this. There were two minutes left in the first episode, which I was enjoying, and I realize they sent me the version where everyone is speaking Japanese, and I don’t speak Japanese. And there are no subtitles. So I watched almost the whole thing before realizing I don’t know what anyone’s saying.

James Waugh: I mean, look, this is visual storytelling. And that’s one thing I’d have to say about anime creators and these directors is that anime, in general, is such a visual medium. And it’s such a cinematic language. And these are the best at it. So it doesn’t surprise me. And hopefully, I always think any good film, you should be able to understand what’s going on by just watching it.

The rest of them were in English, and I was appreciative that once I figured that out.

James Waugh: It fits for that first one very well, actually.

It really does. I only watched Seven Samurai for the first time recently, which is embarrassing. And I’m watching that with subtitles, but I think my brain was used to watching a story in Japanese.

Kanako Shirasaki: [Laughs] Sometimes if you watch Seven Samurai, my native language is Japanese, even I don’t understand what they’re saying, because they’re shouting all the time. But you can understand what’s going on because the visual is so compelling. And it tells a story. So I’m really glad you experienced this happy accident.

So I really don’t watch much anime beyond something like Gatchaman. Is that the hope? To get people like me interested? People who don’t really watch this without Star Wars being involved?

James Waugh: I mean, look, I don’t think that was 100 percent the goal, but that was a happy byproduct of it. I think, really, this came from love. But just to your question, look, that would be amazing if people who weren’t fully aware of all the great anime done in Japan come to it for the Star Wars, and then leave, finish watching, and realize, “I should go check out some of the work from these other studios.” There’s a rich potential there.

I guess I’m wondering what the Venn diagram is right now between anime and Star Wars, because I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t know how much it intersects already until now.

James Waugh: I actually don’t either. I think it’s probably … I don’t know.

Kanako Shirasaki: But I hope these two demographics start a conversation after watching Star Wars: Visions. You can explore. And there’s 40 years of rich history, lots of catch up. But for Star Wars fans, it’s also the same amount of history and lots of different stories to explore. I hope there are conversations. It will start the conversation between two groups.

It’s interesting because, other than one of the nine episodes, it’s all new characters. So to get me to watch anime all you had to do was put some Star Wars sound effects in there.

James Waugh: There are a couple of elements to that though. I think Skywalker Sound provided its amazing services and library to this, but I also think part of the process was to make sure that, even though they’re anime-ing these expressions from these videos, that they were telling authentically Star Wars stories. So part of the selection process and part of the discussion with each of the creators, we wanted to make sure that, again, it was their vision, but that these were Star Wars stories. We didn’t want something that didn’t feel like Star Wars. So, hopefully, your familiarity with Star Wars and helped in that sort of introduction.

I am curious, there’s that one episode with Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett. And why did it work out to eight new stories, to just one with characters we already know?

James Waugh: It was a conscious framework.

It was conscious? Okay.

James Waugh: We had a loose framework for how to express Star Wars in a celebratory way. But a big part of that was we wanted them to create their own characters and really tell their own unique Star Wars stories in a Star Wars setting. Or their version of a Star Wars setting. So what we didn’t want to burden them with having to pick up the mantle of a Luke Skywalker and tell an authentically Skywalker story. Or a What If? story is very cool animation and very cool comic books, but then it’s about that “what if,” and that’s not what we wanted. Really, the reason “Tatooine Rhapsody” has Jabba and has Boba Fett and Bib Fortuna is because their characters were so natural in a story with so much a family story about friends and a band. And those characters are those characters, but it’s really a story about that family, that band.

Did you have to be talked into using existing characters on that one? Since you wanted new characters?

James Waugh: No. Actually, no. It felt right. I think we were more from the start saying, “Don’t use these characters as leads.”

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Following the success of Coming 2 America, which made its streaming debut back in March, Eddie Murphy has signed a three-picture, first-look with Amazon Studios who were eager to lock down the Academy Winning star. According to Amazon’s internal metrics, Coming 2 America was “the #1 streamed movie of the weekend, with the #1 opening weekend of any other streaming movie in 2021 to date.” As part of the deal, Murphy will star in three films for the streaming service as well as develop other projects with the potential to star.

“Eddie is a legend both in front of and behind the camera,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios said in a press release to media outlets. “With undeniable comedic and dramatic genius, he consistently delivers entertaining, original stories and characters to audiences around the world. We could not be more excited to help carry on the tradition and to officially welcome Eddie into the Amazon family.”

What’s interesting about the Amazon deal is that Murphy is still very active over at Netflix. The actor recently signed on to a new comedy with Jonah Hill who co-wrote the film with Coming 2 America writer Kenya Barris. Murphy is also set to star in Beverly Cops Hill 4, which will also debut on Netflix.

In short, Eddie Murphy is having one hell of a hot streak, but his rapidly jam-packed schedule has already suffered one casualty. The actor was set to appear in the Twins sequel, Triplets, alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. However, director Ivan Reitman couldn’t find a suitable time slot in Murphy’s schedule, so the role was offered to Tracy Morgan, who coincidentally also starred in Coming 2 America.

Joe Biden does not care for what Donald Trump did to the White House. Not in a figurative sense about sullying what it means to be president, blah blah blah; he literally doesn’t like how his predecessor turned 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue into a “tomb.” That’s the word Biden used to describe the White House when he moved in, according to a new book, Peril, from Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa:

“It was lonely. Cold. The virus made social events impossible, at least at the start,” Woodward and Costa wrote, adding that Biden preferred “relaxing with the grandkids back in Delaware.”

“Being upstairs at the White House feels like you’re staying at someone else’s house,” White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain is quoted as telling others, according to the book.

Biden reportedly does not like his aides using the “T” word and he really doesn’t enjoy the wall of TVs he had installed. “Trump’s existence permeated the White House, even the residence. One night, Biden wandered into a room where a huge video screen covered the wall. To relax, Trump used to upload programs to virtually play the world’s most famous golf courses,” the book reads. Biden’s response to Trump’s “toys”:

“What a f*cking asshole.”

I still think the Diet Coke button was a good idea, though.

(Via ABC News)

Jennifer Hough, who says that Nicki Minaj and her husband Kenneth Petty have been harassing her over his 1995 rape conviction, appeared on The Real to address her current lawsuit against the couple and the residual effects of the original incident, for which she says she previously blamed herself. She says that after the initial incident, for which Petty served four years in New York prison and was eventually registered as a sex offender, she tried to hide from the world, blaming herself for his assault.

However, in recent years, she says her fear changed to one of Nicki Minaj’s power and influence. Hough recounts her conversation with Nicki in 2020 in which the star offered to fly Hough and her family to California in exchange for recanting her 1995 testimony and helping Petty clear his name from the sex offender registry. Petty had recently been arrested for failing to update his address when the couple moved from New York to California after getting married and has since pled guilty for failing to register as a sex offender. Hough, however, declined the offer, saying, “I told her, woman to woman, this really happened.”

She explains how the couple harassed her, sending representatives to her family members to negotiate payments to help them out, and eventually resorting to threats over her reluctance to assist them. “The last message I received was that I should have taken the money because they are gonna use that money to put on my head,” she says. Her intention with the lawsuit is to stand up to the couple and tell them that “you can’t do this to people — you shouldn’t do this to people… you can’t intimidate people to make things go better for you.”

You can watch the interview in the video above.

The Philadelphia 76ers are in the midst of a trade saga with All-Star guard Ben Simmons. Following the team’s second round departure from the 2021 NBA playoffs, the two sides have seemed to be headed towards a breakup, with Simmons’ camp escalating things in recent weeks by stressing he has no intention of ever suiting up for the team again, to the point that he will not report to training camp and will pay fines handed to him by the organization.

On Wednesday, Sixers coach Doc Rivers appeared on First Take and tried to do damage control. In an interview with Stephen A. Smith, Rivers stressed that despite Simmons’ desire to leave, the team wants to do what it can to convince him to come back.

“We’re gonna go through it, we’re gonna always do what’s best for the team, but I can tell you up front, we would love to get Ben back,” Rivers said. “And if we can, we’re gonna try to do that. You know, Ben has a long contract. It’s in our hands and we want him back.”

Rivers pushed back against Smith’s question about his comments after the team’s Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, saying that he was misquoted by the media and that he never said he was unsure if Simmons could be a championship-level point guard, which has drawn some scrutiny.

Smith went on to ask about Simmons being willing to sit out the season instead of playing for the team, and Rivers made clear that he’s hopeful Simmons’ approach can change in the coming days and weeks.

“That may be where he’s at today, that may not be where he’s at tomorrow, you just don’t know,” Rivers said. “And that’s why we just got to keep communicating and see where we can take this. But you are right, he has four years left on his contract, it’s in our hands.”

While Rivers said his expectation is that Simmons gets “back in the fold” and that the team can move forward. However, he was also clear that he understands this might not happen.

“If that doesn’t happen, I don’t have an expectation, because I don’t know where we would go,” Rivers said. “That will happen if it happens. But right now, Ben is still part of this team, and I’m gonna focus on that part of it.”

The Sixers will begin training camp on Sept. 28, 2021.

As Dune gets ready to drop into theaters and living rooms thanks to its day-and-date release, Jason Momoa has shared a new behind-the-scenes video showcasing his fight training for the role of Duncan Idaho. Narrated by Momoa, the video showcases the months of prep he went through to nail down Duncan’s distinctive fighting style. He also walked viewers through a brief description of his character, and the part he’ll play in the sprawling sci-fi epic:

Duncan Idaho is a legendary warrior, noble guardian of the House Atreides, the family he’s sworn to protect. He is the samurai, the frontline. He’s trusted by the Duke and sent to Arrakis to be an ambassador for the Fremen. At the root of it, he would do anything for Paul. He becomes this one man army standing between this extraordinary young man and the dark forces sent to wipe out his bloodline forever.

Of course, Momoa couldn’t help but crack a couple jokes throughout the training video. While getting ready to film a climactic fight scene, Momoa told the camera that he had just watched the Game of Thrones season finale the night before, so “this one’s for you, Khaleesi.”

While Momoa has become a versatile actor with no shortage of roles under his belt, he’s been particularly enthused about his work on Dune and revealed that he’s never felt more “beautiful” than when he was making the film. “I don’t ever want to go back to not being treated that [way]. I felt beautiful in this film,” Momoa told Variety last year. “It’s a very hard thing to say, but I felt very beautiful.”

Dune arrives in theaters and HBO Max on October 1.

Like millions of other Americans, Uma Thurman is incensed over Texas’ new near-total abortion ban. So much so, that the Oscar-nominated actor wrote a deeply personal op-ed for The Washington Post, in which she declared the new ruling “a human rights crisis for American women” and shared what she called her “darkest secret”: that at the age of 15, she had an abortion.

I started my acting career at 15, working in an environment where I was often the only kid in the room. In my late teens, I was accidentally impregnated by a much older man. I was living out of a suitcase in Europe, far from my family, and about to start a job. I struggled to figure out what to do. I wanted to keep the baby, but how?

I telephoned home. My mother was gravely ill in the hospital. My father went to her bedside to discuss my options. We had never spoken about sex before; this was the first time, and it was terrible for all of us. They asked me about the status of my relationship—it was not viable—and warned me how difficult it would be to raise a baby as a teen on my own. My childish fantasy of motherhood was soundly corrected as I weighed answers to their very precise questions. I was just starting out in my career and didn’t have the means to provide a stable home, even for myself. We decided as a family that I couldn’t go through with the pregnancy, and agreed that termination was the right choice. My heart was broken nonetheless.

Thurman went on to share the details of the procedure itself, noting that, “It hurt terribly, but I didn’t complain. I had internalized so much shame that I felt I deserved the pain.” But one of her most vivid memories was of the kindness she was shown by the doctor who performed the abortion.

“My fingers were tightly locked across my chest, and when the procedure was done the doctor looked down at me said, ‘You have beautiful hands—you remind me of my daughter.’ That single gesture of humanity is seared in my mind as one of the most compassionate moments I have ever experienced. In his eyes, I was a person, I was a daughter, I was still a girl.”

Thurman, now 51 and a mother of three children, said that while the decision hurts, she knows it was the right one for her, because it “allowed me to grow up and become the mother I wanted and needed to be.” She went on to state that “I have nothing to gain from this disclosure, and perhaps much to lose,” but to let other girls and women who find themselves in this impossible situation know that she understands—and that “no one finds herself on that table on purpose.”

To Thurman, Texas’ decision to pass this abortion ban—without involving the Supreme Court—is yet another “discriminatory tool against those who are economically disadvantaged, and often, indeed, against their partners.”

She concluded her thoughts by offering the same words that helped her so many years ago:

“To all of you—to women and girls of Texas, afraid of being traumatized and hounded by predatory bounty hunters; to all women outraged by having our bodies’ rights taken by the state; and to all of you who are made vulnerable and subjected to shame because you have a uterus—I say: I see you. Have courage. You are beautiful. You remind me of my daughters.”

(Via The Washington Post)

This article originally appeared on 02.07.15

Taryn looked perfectly healthy when her parents brought her home. She was growing — thriving, even.

Then one day, the baby made a strange sound. Her breathing became difficult. Her mom called 911 and started CPR.

Taryn died that night in the hospital. She had a heart defect, but no one had thought to check her heart before it stopped working.

Less than 50% of congenital heart defects are diagnosed before birth.

A baby who appears healthy might have a heart that is moments away from stopping.

Luckily, there is a simple, inexpensive, and non-invasive screening called pulse oximetry.

A pulse oximeter shines a red light through the baby’s toe, and reports the oxygen levels in the blood. Low levels are cause for further investigation. Practically all hospitals have pulse oximeters on hand.

In 2011, New Jersey became the first state to require pulse ox screening as part of the standard tests a newborn receives. As a result of this screening, over the following three years, 13 babies were diagnosed with a heart defect that could have been fatal if left undetected.

Since 2011, many states have added pulse ox to their newborn screening protocol. Here’s a handy map to see if yours is one of them. If you live in one of the seven states that doesn’t have a law requiring it, pulse ox should still be available to you in most hospitals. Ask your doctor.

If a law like this could save families from preventable heartbreak at minimal cost, it seems like common sense to me.

Feb. 7-14, 2015, is Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week.

I don’t want you to freak anyone out, but could you maybe spread the awareness by sharing this? You never know whose life you could be saving.

<span class=”redactor-invisible-space”></span>Warning: The auto-generated captions on this video are awful and in some cases upsetting. Upworthy neither makes them nor has the ability to control them. However, if you scroll down below the video and click “Show Transcript,” you’ll see an Upworthy-created version that is much better.

As a kid, Jamel Holmes knew he wanted to be a teacher. He would spend rainy days giving spelling tests and playing math games with other children in his apartment building in New York’s South Bronx.

But throughout elementary school, Holmes never had a teacher who looked like him. It wasn’t until seventh grade that he had his first Black male teacher—Mr. Emdin. In some ways, he was lucky. Nearly 80% of teachers in the U.S. are white, and many Americans go their entire educations without having even one non-white teacher.

Teachers of color make a difference, which is why education nonprofit DonorsChoose has teamed up with The Allstate Foundation to support them. According to research from Johns Hopkins University and American University, having at least one Black teacher in grades three through five reduces the likelihood of Black students dropping out of high school by up to 39% and increases the likelihood that students from low-income households will aspire to attend college. An analysis published in Education Next also found that Black teachers tend to have higher expectations of Black students, which contributes to greater success.

Diversity in teaching helps white students, too. Educational laboratory REL Northwest found that white students with non-white teachers develop better problem-solving and critical thinking skills, expand their range of creativity and social and emotional skills, and increase their sense of civic engagement.

A joint initiative from DonorsChoose and The Allstate Foundation offers individuals and groups opportunities to help bridge racial gaps in the classroom. For one, The Allstate Foundation will match all donations to teachers of color who are using DonorsChoose to crowdfund projects for the first time. DonorsChoose has also partnered with The Allstate Foundation to launch a Racial Justice and Representation category on the site, making it easy for donors to help fund classroom projects focused on increasing diversity in curricula and creating a more inclusive environment. From buying books written by diverse authors to providing materials for anti-racism education, donors can directly support teachers working toward racial equity.

“Achievement soars when students see their identities reflected in both their teachers and learning material,” said Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose. “Research also shows that too many students of color and students from low-income households enter classrooms without enough books, technology and supplies. By creating this new category on DonorsChoose, we want to support these students and give voice to their teachers, tapping their frontline wisdom.”

In addition to matching donations to teachers of color using DonorsChoose for the first time, The Allstate Foundation will also match every donation to projects in the Racial Justice and Representation category, up to a total of $1.5 million. You can see those projects here.

Jamel Holmes did grow up to become a teacher. He earned a master’s degree and now teaches special education for sixth graders at East Bronx Academy for the Future, the same school he attended. Holmes uses DonorsChoose to help his students get what they need both inside and outside school. He has crowdfunded technology tools for his classroom as well as personal care items for his students. He drives through the Bronx to give school supplies, clothing, laundry essentials and food to kids whose families are in need, and even takes students to get free haircuts. He wants to be a role model students can turn to.

Photo courtesy of Jamel Holmes

“As I think about Black male teachers … there are not many of us,” Holmes says. “We bring more than just the academics, the curriculum, pedagogy … [we bring] real life experience in which we can relate to our students well beyond the classroom.”

Schools are charged with providing a safe, nurturing and equitable environment for students and teachers. Supporting educators who are trying to create that environment by helping fund their racial equity projects is a good place to start.

Moneybagg Yo’s sleeper summer hit “Wockesha” receives a woozy remix courtesy of the two artists the Memphis rapper originally just sampled on the song: Lil Wayne and Ashanti. Lil Wayne, whose voice is sampled from an old interview on the song’s intro, contributes a sturdy verse dedicated to the delights of his favorite styrofoam cup filler. Then, Ashanti, whose song “Foolish” uses the same interpolation as “Wockesha” (from DeBarge’s 1983 song “Stay With Me”), offers a honeyed hook, as well as a melodic verse of her own.

“Wockesha” turned out to be the breakout hit from Moneybagg’s recently released album A Gangsta’s Pain, which garnered the Memphis native his first-ever No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart. Since the album’s release, Moneybagg has seen himself become an in-demand features artist as Belly tapped him for “Zero Love” and Fredo Bang put in the call for “Doin’ My Dance.” Moneybagg’s also accumulated high-profile performances, including one at Broccoli City’s return festival and the 2021 BET Awards, where he performed “Wockesha” live.

Meanwhile, his guests have had bountiful years of their own. Lil Wayne has popped up on tracklists from Conway The Machine, Drake, and more, while Ashanti recently graced the Verzuz stage twice, once in January in her own battle with Keyshia Cole, and again during Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s show, performing alongside both.

Listen to Moneybagg Yo’s “Wockesha” remix featuring Lil Wayne and Ashanti above.