Category Archives: Zeitgeist Movement

It was just over a year ago that the world as we knew it including our theatres, live-music venues and art galleries shut down. But now theatre, at least, is back in full swing. Sydney Theatre Company (STC) artistic director Kip Williams shakes his head in astonishment at the near miracle that has not only seen the STC return to 100 per cent capacity audiences but the public enthusiastically embracing his 2021 program of 16 productions.

Its far beyond my wildest dreams for what Id hoped for 2021, and its the eagerness with which everybody is returning. I hope that gives everyone else in the world some encouragement and the strength to keep going, he tells Broadsheet.

Williams has been closely observing audience reactions and feedback. He saw an initial desire for works that explore community and connection, such as the sold-out adaptation of novelist Ruth Parks Playing Beatie Bow, and a craving for something uplifting.

They want to laugh they probably want to have a bit of a cry as well but its not just escapism, they want to process the ideas that have transpired in the past 12 months, he says. Theatre enables you to do that collectively, in the way Appropriate [STCs current production by Pulitzer Prize-nominated American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins] allows you to explore the Black Lives Matter movement, or a show like [the upcoming] Julius Caesar looks at democracy and leadership in the wake of everything thats happened.

Williams has just launched Act Two of the theatres 2021 program, with some shows reinstated after the 2020 hiatus, some brand new. (Act One was announced in November last year.) One of the breakout hits will surely be the new Australian work Triple X, written by and starring the award-winning Glace Chase, about a successful Wall Street banker preparing to marry his beautiful fiance, but secretly enjoying an affair with charismatic trans drag performer Dexie (Chase). The Queensland Theatre co-production opened last week in Brisbane to five-star reviews and standing ovations.

Its the first trans love story on the Australian mainstage, which is something were very proud of, and a piece of writing thats one of the best-crafted new plays thats come across my desk, says Williams.

Another hilarious new work is The Dismissal: An Extremely Serious Musical Comedy about that moment in Australian politics in 1975, which continues to have ramifications today. Williams says The Dismissal is some of the best musical theatre composition Ive heard.

At the other end of the scale is Arthur Millers influential work Death of a Salesman, starring the extraordinary Wayne Blair and directed by Paige Rattray. This work is an elegy to those let down by the world around them, and after the past 12 months it will be the hymn to the times in which were living, says Williams.

Act Two also sees the return of Williams astonishing multimedia adaptation of Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray, with Eryn Jean Norvill performing the parts of all 26 characters. When the work premiered in 2020, audiences knew they were witnessing something very, very special. It sold out both season extensions and Williams is now fielding invitations to tour New York, London and Asia.

Other welcome returns include beloved Australian play The 7 Stages of Grieving, written by Wesley Enoch and Deborah Mailman. Starring Elaine Crombie, its also the STC directorial debut of resident director Shari Sebbens. A contemporary account of what it means to be an Aboriginal woman in Australia, new material has been added to bring the work sharply into focus for 2021.

One of the hottest names in Australian theatre, Anchuli Felicia King, is reprising her production White Pearl, following its sell-out 2019 premier. Starring five Asian-Australian actors, the play is a searing satire of corporate culture, pan-Asian relations and racism.

A Raisin in the Sun, the seminal American play by the late Lorraine Hansberry, is described by the STC as a testament to the power of family and a hymn to the Black experience. It stars sought-after actors Bert LaBont and Zahra Newman in its first Australian mainstage production, directed by Sebbens.

Grand Horizons, starring theatre icon John Bell, is direct from (pre-lockdown) Broadway and follows a couple in their 80s who amicably end their 50-year marriage to further explore their sexuality. Williams describes it as a very funny piece but quite radical in the way it looks at romance and sexuality in people who we dont typically consider to be romantic.

Rounding out the season are Williams production of Julius Caesar, performed in the round and accompanied by the cheekily teasing question ancient history?; The Lifespan of a Fact, the Broadway comedy that speaks directly to the zeitgeist and our obsession with truth; and Roald Dahls Fantastic Mr Fox, a family show adapted by Shake & Stir theatre company that Williams describes as a really smart, visually exciting production.

Tickets to STC: Act Two are open from March 26 to season 2020 ticketholders or 2021 Act One package holders; general release opens April 21.

sydneytheatre.com.au/season-2021

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Sydney Theatre Company Lifts the Curtain on Act Two, the Second Portion of Its 2021 Program - Broadsheet

Despite being best mates and touring buddies, DeWayne describes asking Awsten Knight to guest on his new single Perfume as like asking agirl on adate. He was scared.

He hit me up and it was the funniest voice message, the Waterparks frontman laughs of his friends adorably nervous request. I still have it! He was so shy about it even though he knows Ill do anything for him. He was like, Ah, so hey man Iwas thinking and you can tell me to shut up Imsorry!

Im such afan of Awstens, and Iwould hurt someone over this guy Ireally would! DeWayne reasons passionately. And Ijust have this, like, little kid in me, and with anything that happens. Idont Im ever gonna be like, Yeah, hop on this [song] tomorrow! Its more like, Hey, lets get dinner and then do you wanna hop on thisverse?!

Youre gonna wine me and dine me and then be like, Hey, you wanna be on ahit?! Awstenjokes.

Well keep you updated on that, grins DeWayne, but for now Ithink Im still gonna be sending two-minute voice messages with kisses at theend

Regardless of their back-and-forth collaborative methods, DeWayne and Awstens first single together is everything youd want from two of the most exciting young artists in rock. In fact, upon hearing it for the first time, DeWayne had an overwhelmingly powerfulreaction

I show Awsten everything that Ido regardless of if its asong or apicture, he explains. I sent Perfume to him and Ididnt even think about asking him [to guest on it] until Ialready had the song. It made sense, and when he sent it back Icried driving down the 101in my car with flattyres!

With Awsten promising more stuff in the secret bag to come, Kerrang! joined the musicians over Zoom for awide-ranging conversation about collaborations, the state of rock, and the importance of making real art

On collaborations in the rock scene

DeWayne: Collaborations work in every other genre, and Ithink people are starting to notice that. My thing about collaborations is that Iwant to do it with my friends, and people that Iactually love and care about. Weve been getting [offers] for features and Ihave to turn some of them down because Im like, I dont know you. The song is cool, but you just want me to rap and put my hair on it, and Ijust dont really care aboutthat.

Awsten: Yo, Iknow how that goes! They just want ourhair!

DeWayne: And thats fair, but to have Awsten on this song is so perfect for me, and Ithink the song is just so great. Idid asong on Chase Atlantics album those are my friends and Ilove them, and Ilove this fucking guy right here. If its acollaboration, Iwant it to be areal collaboration.

Awsten: I agree with all of that, and Ithink its important to be friends with people [that youre working with]. Because what if theyre atotal piece of shit?! (Laughs) And weve had people suggest things to us, like, Why dont you get this person to feature on your song? And its like, I dont even know that guy, why would we do that?! This could just be weird personal shit, but weve been working so hard for so long that Iwouldnt want to look at our Spotify top songs and out all of these songs Ive written the first one is me and some fucking asshole dude. That would bum me out so much, and feel like amistake, almost.

Collaborations are cool if they make really good sense, but sometimes labels arent thinking about the art or the song and theyre just thinking about the commerce side of it and, What will get streams? Ive talked to alot of friends on labels and stuff, and they still try to revert to the old rules of what they feel like works. Its like, Well, features get streams Ifeel like features are done for the wrong reasons often, but when you do them for the right reasons its fucking awesome like this! DeWayne being one of my best friends, and Perfume being one of my favourite songs of his, its like, Fucking duh, of course Ill dothat.

DeWayne: There are one or two artists that Id be down for [who Idont know personally]. Imentioned [The 1975 frontman] Matty Healy in [2020 single] National Anthem and if he heard asong and wanted to yell over it, thatd be cool. And Id love to have Julian [Casablancas] from The Strokes sing abridge for me it would be something like that if it wasnt my bestfriends.

On the financial impact of streaming

DeWayne: Just getting my [record] deal, and just starting to consistently put out music, Ihave afanbase now and we call ourselves The Circle and people care and buy merch and listen to the songs, and thats enough for me. If the label can give me an advance so Ican live for six months and then Ican make the best music and people will consume it even its just downloading or through streaming services then thats enough for me at the moment. The other stuff Ill figure out. Im okay with that right now because Istill get to eat my food while also getting to make art for aliving and build atrue community. Im not worried about getting amillion dollars right now! Ican go outside and jump on my trampoline and then come inside and make asong, and thats fuckingcool.

Awsten: I would prefer to still be in the times where people bought what you do (laughs) that would be dope. And luckily we do have the kind of fans that do that; we drop avinyl variant and its sold out in 30minutes. Ifeel like that even ties in to the whole collaborations thing; Ithink Id be more okay with features if people bought albums, because Ifeel like it wouldnt necessarily take away from stuff. If you go to anybodys Spotify or whatever, even if someone has amillion better songs, its always the song that has the star next to it at thetop.

Also, it would be dope to sell more albums, because then DeWayne could get abigger trampoline, and Icould buy ajet-ski and put it on thetrampoline.

DeWayne: That would be fuckingtight.

Awsten: Heres the thing, though: theres no point in yearning for the old days because its just awaste of time. Ithink it would be dope to have the benefit of being around in atime when our job was at its height, but all you can do is adjust. Mentally its one of those things that Itry really hard not to [focus] on because it is what it is whats thealternative?

On how TikTok can benefit the music industry

Awsten: I think its areally good thing for music, because nothing else has been this good for the discovery of music since MySpace. With anything new like this, of course theres gonna be dumb motherfuckers that try and bend the system like, Oh, why dont we make art based around what TikTok will think? And its like, Go fuck yourself! But besides those corny fuckers that do gimmicky meme shit just for the sake of it, Ithink its agood thing. Ive even found shit on there myself; Iskim TikTok all the time Ihate going on Instagram and Twitter now and Ifind so many cool songs, and its awesome. Ive never been scrolling Facebook in the past and been like, Oooh, check out all these dope newthings!

DeWayne: Thats true. Ifeel like Ifind more dope comedy stuff on there but maybe Ineed to get more into the musicvibe

Awsten: Dude, Istay on paranormal TikTok all the time! Idont send it to you because Iknow you wouldnt like it, but Im on it constantly (laughs).

DeWayne: I think its cool, but Idefinitely need to be on there more and experience it more. Ithink it allows me to be abit looser, though, and thats what Ienjoy about it. Ithink people think Im so serious all the time, and TikTok allows me to get on there and twerk to my songs! You cant do that on Instagram; people are like, You released apolitical song, you cant do that. TikTok allows that kind of energy, and people are way more accepting to that, and thats fucking cool to me: that balance of trying to be agreat artist and say something, but also liking shaking your ass to your ownmusic!

Awsten: Thats the headline (laughs). Weve gotta do that for Perfume,dude

On being forward-thinking artists

Awsten: One thing Ireally remember is Waterparks played this festival in 2016 when we first started properly touring Im not gonna say which one (laughs) and Iwas looking around, talking to Otto [Wood, drums] like, Yo, every motherfucker here looks exactly the same. This is terrible. Lets just agree right now that were never gonna dress like any of this! And when we were maybe almost done recording our first album [Double Dare], Iwanted to make sure we werent listening to what was around us. It can be subconscious that you take in alot of what your surroundings are, and it was really important to be like, Okay, Im not absorbing what Im hearing right now. No shade to anyone, and there are exceptions to everything, but sometimes things in that world can get so repetitive and so monotonous, and just so unremarkable, that you have to keep yourself in check and make sure youre not accidentally taking in shit!

DeWayne: I agree with all of that, Awsten. Ifeel like for me, it started early on in Houston Ijust came out being alittle to the left or right of what everyone was doing, and that was even before music. Iwas always trying to figure out what worked for me. Irealised that Iwas going to have to come to LA to make something of myself, and Idont mean to say that to sound clich, but Iknew that at, like, 17. So then when Idid that, Iwasnt trying to be different from anyone; Iwas just being myself, and that was it. Igrew up with church music, and with soul music, and with hip-hop, and then for the past five years Iwent to the school of songwriting, and learning songs that nobody else showed me Ijust went and studied them. And now this is whats coming out, and if people like it thats fucking cool, but Im justmyself.

Awsten: Thats exactly right you are so fucking right. When people are like, How do you make asong? Its like, Dude, literally the answers are right there you can open up your Spotify and click on anything, and the answer is there. Being quiet and paying attention for asecond gives you everything you need to know aboutsongwriting.

DeWayne: I just got my situation to where Im on alabel now Im under MDDN with Awsten and Waterparks and Ihad to watch for the longest time, and that really has helped me. Ithought Iwas ready at 19, and Iwas not. But Igot to be quiet and watch, see other people get really good, and Iwas like, When is my time? Igot to rehearse, and practice, and do my push-ups for the last five years so that Icould be like, Now Ican knock somebody out through my music. Im anerd when it comes to expressing myself, and Ikeep Kurt Cobains diary around and Im always reading books on staying in ameditative state, and Im always writing and eventually the songscome.

Awsten: Musically Inever really get stuck, but vocally and lyrically Im really picky. Ive been getting abit stuck on that lately, and Ithink that just comes from wanting to say something new and Im not just harping on past shit, or making aless good version of something weve alreadydone.

On achieving career longevity

DeWayne: I wanna be here for along time. Sometimes people around you say silly things like, Try that! and Im like, No, thats gonna be gone next week. If you write good songs every day, and you make sure that you feel good about what youre putting out, you may stay around. Ireally care about being agreat artist, and Ithink youre required to do that: you want to have the album booklet be beautiful, you want to have the lyrics be meaningful, you want to have your voice be impeccable. Thats what Im strivingfor.

Awsten: Exactly. Iwas talking to Josh [Madden] about this the other day: its so important, because were over here trying to make our Nevermind, and these other fuckers are making McDonalds albums quick things where its like, This will stream well for asecond. Its not about that; its about playing adifferent game. Sometimes you get in your head and its like, Fuck, PewDiePie just dropped adiss track and its sold more than anything weve ever had combined. Its important to keep your head down and focus on what you know you have tomake.

DeWayne: Facts.

Awsten: I want to make aclassic album; Iwant to make something that feels timeless and its not going to be weird six years from now, and someones gonna be like, Oh my god, remember when everybody sounded like this? You have to put on those fucking blinders. And Ithink quarantines been good for the blinders. Youre seeing less people, and were not at music festivals going, Oh my god, 20,000 people really seem to like that Right now it really can be that tunnel vision in your ownshit.

DeWayne: Youre on it, bro! Thats so fuckingtrue.

Awsten: I think what you and Iare both making right now, were making because its art. Were not worried about, Oh man, Isure hope it gets to this feat. When you make real art, Ifeel like its more about the longgame.

On genre and the rock scene

DeWayne: Lately Ireally havent been into describing what Imake

Awsten: Itslimiting!

DeWayne: I dont think anything is dead, because whats happening right now, were doing our own thing. But Ifucking love the idea of having sexy-ass, hard, big guitars, with pop melody, rapping sometimes, yelling, and saying real shit. Ithink Ido make rock music, and alternative music, and new wave shit, and punk, but regardless of that Im giving you something that you can sing along to, and if you listen very deeply, its real. Thats what Iwant to stand for. If there is arock scene right now, Ithink it should look like how the world looks, and thats alot of different people and Ithink were apart of that [movement]: just bringing in anew brand of alternativemusic.

Awsten: Besides really extreme genres, Idont think there are any glass ceilings. Ithink people can have glass ceilings with their ability if you dont practice and work on your shit, and aim to always be levelling up on what you do. But Ialso feel like anyone has the potential to do great shit and always go up and up and up. You can be the biggest fucking thing in the world and still be a rock artist. Iwould consider Waterparks arock project more than any other genre, but Idont think its fair to yourself to bring on that pressure of, Im bringing rock back! Its been said amillion fucking times. Ithink its going to happen when it happens. Its not really up to us; its up to the zeitgeist and the culture when things are going to shift, and its happening right now. To me, its not about whos going to save it; its about who times it right to ride the fucking wave. Idont have ablind allegiance to agenre like, Were arock thing and were gonna save it and blah blah blah! Maybe when we were smaller we were embraced alot more by that kind of community, and Id have abuilt-in loyalty. But Ithink thats too much pressure when the whole thing should just be about trying to keep creating, and keep moving. If you have to sit there and be like, Whats an original idea for me, and also whats this going to do for the culture and the world and everything around it?! then thats gonna fucking freak youout.

You cant carry yourself and create based on trying to effect an entire culture, because its going to happen when it does. And plus, anyone who does shift the culture isnt fucking saying that. Kurt Cobain wasnt saying that; he just did what hedid.

DeWayne: I also think people dont really know what they want until you give it to them, and Im here to serve that purpose. Its like, I believe in this, Ibelieve in punk music, rap, rock, whatever the fuck. Ijust think its good. And Ijust want to serve it upregardless.

On rock and alternative music having a bright future

DeWayne: It has avery bright future. Ithink its fucking sexy and its beautiful and its hot. Iwas [on tour] with Waterparks and Iwas onstage grinding!

Awsten: Those moms watching wanted to kiss you,dude!

DeWayne: And at the end theyd kiss me in my mouth after the show (laughs). At the beginning they werent sure, but by the end theyd [be won over], and thats what Ithink is sexy about rock and alternative music. Its going up right now, and were apart of that. [Touring with Waterparks] was really interesting and thats why Ithank Awsten every damn day. Ithink rock and alternative music have abright future, because am Inot alternative? Am Inot of the culture? Thats why Ithink its cool to challenge all those things, all the time, and do it boldly and do it bravely. Im here for thatshit!

Perfume by DeWayne featuring Awsten Knight is out now. Waterparks new album Greatest Hits is due out on May 21 via 300 Entertainment. Stay tuned for more news on DeWaynesoon.

Posted on March 18th 2021, 5:00p.m.

Excerpt from:

In conversation with De'Wayne and Awsten Knight: The rock scene should look like how the world looks and that's a lot of different people Kerrang! -...

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Rose Plays Julie explores the flipside to the happy reunion between a mother and the child she put up for adoption.

There are tears of a different kind when Rose, a university student raised happily in an adopted family, forces a meeting with her less-than-interested birth mother.

The Cleveland Institute of Arts Cinematheque is streaming the psychological suspense thriller starting March 19.

Also beginning March 19, Cleveland Cinemas (Cedar Lee, the Capitol and Chagrin Cinemas) and the Cinematheque are screening fun French comedy Perfumes.

Director Grgory Magnes new film about a haughty, diva-esque fragrance designer and her down-on-his-luck new driver stars Emmanuelle Devos and Grgory Montel Rose (Call My Agent!).

Virtual screening rooms continue to offer movie lovers a safe way to view first-run films online during a pandemic. Half the proceeds from the virtual films go back to the local theater. Costs vary for each film, which is accessible for either 48 or 72 hours.

Heres a look at new and current films streaming this weekend through Cinematheque and Cleveland Cinemas:

Eyes Without A Face

Presented as part of the 2021 Cleveland Humanities Festivals theme of Identity, Georges Franjus 1960 film Eyes Without A Face is a surrealistic nightmare about a mad surgeon who kidnaps beautiful young women with the intention of transplanting their faces onto his disfigured daughter. (Cinematheque)

The Fever

Acclaimed documentarian Maya Da-Rin makes her feature film debut with The Fever about a middle-aged indigenous widower working as a security guard in a Brazilian industrial city who yearns for his Amazonian rainforest roots. (Cinematheque)

Perfumes

If youre in the mood for something light, fun and foreign, French comedy Perfumes will check all of the boxes. Director Grgory Magnes new film about a haughty, diva-esque fragrance designer and her down-on-his-luck new driver stars Emmanuelle Devos and Grgory Montel Rose (Call My Agent!). (Cinematheque and Cleveland Cinemas)

Rose Plays Julie

Rose Plays Julie explores the flipside to the happy reunion between a mother and the child she put up for adoption. However, there are tears of a different kind when Rose, a university student raised happily in an adopted family, forces a meeting with her less-than-interested birth mother. The result is a psychological suspense thriller including hidden truths involving larger themes like identity. (Cinematheque)

Wojnarowicz: F**K You F*Ggot F**Ker

AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz is the subject of Chris McKim new documentary Wojnarowicz: F**K You F*Ggot F**Ker. The film profiles the queer, downtown New York City artist, writer and photographer who during the 1980s AIDS epidemic weaponized his work and waged war against the establishments indifference to this plague. (Cinematheque)

Acas, My Home

Acas, My Home tells the poignant and poetic story of a Romanian family with nine children living off the grid for nearly two decades in the Bucharest Delta who must move to the city after their home becomes part of a new nature preserve. Radu Ciorniciucs documentary has a 100 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. (Cinematheque)

Another Round

Booze is good is the simplistic premise put to the test of four unhappy high school teachers in new film Another Round. Director Thomas Vinterbergs (The Celebration) comedy-drama finds the characters testing out a prominent psychologists theory that human beings would be more creative, happier and relaxed with a constant level of alcohol in their blood. (Cinematheque)

Blizzard of Souls

The horrors of war reach new depths in the Blizzard of Souls, which is Latvias official submission for this years Oscar for Best International Feature Film. Based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Aleksandrs Grns that was banned in the Soviet Union for 60 years, the detailed historical drama follows a wide-eyed teens journey from farm boy to hardened WWI soldier. (Cinematheque)

Brooklyn Castle

A decade after its premiere -- and perhaps capitalizing on The Queens Gambit popularity -- the Emmy Award-nominated Brooklyn Castle is getting re-released. The documentary features five chess team members from an inner-city junior high school, which has won the most national championships. (Cleveland Cinemas)

Collective

Recently named Romanias official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2021 Academy Awards, Alexander Nanaus gripping documentary Collective delves into the fallout from the Bucharest 2015 Colectiv nightclub fire, which killed or injured more than 200 people. Weaving together accounts from whistleblowers, newspaper reporters, government officials and burn victims, the impressive piece of investigative journalism uncovers deadly corruption within Romanias healthcare industry. (Cinematheque)

Coming Home Again

Director Wayne Wang (Chan Is Missing and The Joy Luck Club) based his new film Coming Home Again on a New Yorker essay about a first-generation Korean-American man who returns to his San Francisco home to care for his ailing Korean mother. (Cinematheque)

Falling

Academy Award-nominated actor Viggo Mortensen makes his directorial debut in new film Falling, which finds a headstrong and independent father -- struggling with early stages of dementia -- forced to leave his rural farm and stay with his son in Los Angeles. The drama stars Mortensen, Lance Henriksen and Laura Linney. (Cleveland Cinemas)

Food Club

Foodies will enjoy Danish film Food Club, which follows three mature women -- girlfriends since elementary school -- who find their lives transformed when they take a cooking course in Italy. (Cinematheque and Cleveland Cinemas)

F.T.A.

Obscure documentary F.T.A. was the lefts answer to Bob Hopes USO tours. Filmed during the height of the Vietnam War protests, the recently-restored movie documents Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland and a troupe of entertainers traveling stateside and through Southeast Asia presenting an anti-war musical-comedy revue to soldiers. (Cinematheque and Cleveland Cinemas)

The Good Traitor

During WWII, Henrik Kauffmann was Denmarks ambassador to the United States. Director Christina Rosendahl brings his story to life in new feature film The Good Traitor. When the Danish government surrendered to Nazi Germany in 1940, Kauffmann, who was living in Washington, D.C., declared himself the only true representative of a free Denmark. (Cinematheque)

Gustav Stickley: American Craftsman

Known as the father of the American Arts and Crafts movement, Gustav Stickley (1858-1942) designed and manufactured furniture, published The Craftsman magazine and founded Craftsman Farms, which is a forerunner to the farm-to-table movement. Herb Stratfords new documentary Gustav Stickley: American Craftsman includes interviews and archival materials. (Cinematheque)

Identifying Features

Director Fernanda Valadezs impressive film debut, Identifying Features, which won an Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, revolves around a Mexican mother trying to discover the fate of her adolescent son who left home to cross the U.S. border. The suspenseful drama has a 100 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. (Cinematheque)

The Inheritance

Based on his experiences in a West Philadelphia radical collective, filmmaker Ephraim Asilis newest project is The Inheritance. Honoring generations of pioneering Black writers, musicians and radicals, the comedy revolves around an African-American man who opens his recently inherited grandmothers house to artists and activists. (Cinematheque)

Just Dont Think Ill Scream

Director Frank Beauvais eclectic debut movie, Just Dont Think Ill Scream, is a collage film that strings together clips from B-movie and 70s horror flicks to create a tortured monologue to mirror the filmmakers post-breakup blues. (Cinematheque)

Keep An Eye Out

Cult director Quentin Dupieux (Rubber and Deerskin) is back with his own unique, bizarre and absurd take on 1970s police procedurals. The dark comedy Keep An Eye Out stars Benot Poelvoorde (Man Bites Dog). (Cinematheque)

Lost Course

Chinese documentary Lost Course chronicles a fishing villages eight-year journey toward a grassroots democratic movement. While ousted local officials were illegally selling land, the newly elected officials turned out to be just as corrupt. (Cinematheque)

Mafia Inc

Despite the fact the Mafia movie genre has been poked and prodded to death, every now and then theres a fresh take. This is the case with the brand new Mafia Inc, which is set in Montreal and based on a true story. The Sicilian-mafia drama -- which stars veteran Italian actor-writer-director Sergio Castellitto -- has a 100 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. (Cinematheque)

M.C. Escher: Journey To Infinity

Robin Lutzs new documentary M.C. Escher: Journey To Infinity delves into the life and legacy of Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher, whose surreal, psychedelic bland-and-white drawings bridged the worlds of art and mathematics. The film includes surviving family members with Graham Nash providing voice over. (Cinematheque)

Meeting the Beatles In India

In 1968, Paul Saltzman -- who was studying transcendental meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi -- unexpectedly crossed paths with the Fab Four. Now the Emmy Award-winning Canadian filmmaker has turned this experience into new documentary Meeting the Beatles In India, which is narrated by Morgan Freeman and includes never-before-seen personal photos. (Cinematheque)

Minari

Director Lee Isaac Chungs Minari, which stars Steven Yeun (Walking Dead), is a touching, tender, semi-autobiographical work about a Korean immigrant family that relocates from California to a farm in rural Arkansas during the 1980s. Currently boasting a 99 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is the winner of both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at last years Sundance Film Festival. (Cinematheque)

My Little Sister

The official Swiss submission for this years Oscar for Best International Feature Film is My Little Sister, which has a 100 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The drama finds a once brilliant playwright -- who no longer writes -- returning to her craft when her famous stage actor twin brother is diagnosed with leukemia. (Cinematheque)

Nasrin

Jeff Kaufmans new documentary Nasrin spotlights Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is currently a political prisoner serving a 38-year sentence. The portrait of the Iranian human rights lawyer -- who has fought for the rights of women, children, LGBT prisoners, religious minorities, journalists, artists and death row inmates -- is narrated by Olivia Colman and features interviews with filmmaker Jafar Panahi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and journalist Ann Curry. (Cinematheque)

Night of the Kings

Night of the Kings tells the harrowing story of a new arrival at an Ivorian prison who in an attempt to stay alive must spin an all-night tale. Director Philippe Lactes newest movie is Ivory Coasts official submission for this years Oscar for Best International Feature Film category. (Cinematheque)

The People vs. Agent Orange

New documentary The People vs. Agent Orange explores how the toxic chemical was employed as a defoliant during the Vietnam War, as well as how it continues to be used by the American timber industry today. The film focuses on the crusade of two women -- an American and French resident -- trying to stop the use of Agent Orange, which causes deformities, disabilities, disease and death. (Cinematheque)

The Reason I Jump

Winner of the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, The Reason I Jump follows five autistic people from around the globe who lack the ability to speak. Jerry Rothwells documentary is based on the acclaimed book by Naoki Higashida. (Cleveland Cinemas)

Ruth: Justice Ginsburg In Her Own Words

For those fans of Ruth Bader Ginsburg who dont feel its soon after her death last year, Freida Lee Mock has a documentary for you. Ruth: Justice Ginsburg In Her Own Words tells the improbable story of how Ginsburg -- who couldnt get a job despite tying first in her graduating law class and making Law Review at Harvard and Columbia Law Schools -- became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. (Cleveland Cinemas)

Songs My Brothers Taught Me

While director Chlo Zhaos third feature film Nomadland is currently attracting Oscar buzz, her 2015 debut, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, is worthy of viewing. Shot on location in South Dakotas Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the film provides insight into troubled Native American life while following two teens who react differently to the death of their rodeo father. (Cinematheque)

Stray

Elizabeth Los imaginative new film Stray is a mostly wordless documentary that follows a stray dog living in Istanbul alongside other homeless canines, as well as Syrian refugees. In addition to the feature, theres an exclusive Q&A with Lo. (Cinematheque and Cleveland Cinemas)

Test Pattern

Shatara Michelle Fords debut feature, Test Pattern, taps into the Zeitgeist touching upon everything from health care inequities to the #MeToo movement to policing and race in America. The award-winning feature focuses on the relationship between a young Black woman and her white boyfriend as he drives her in search of a rape kit after she is sexually assaulted by another man. (Cinematheque and Cleveland Cinemas)

Til Kingdom Come

Director Maya Zinshteins new documentary Til Kingdom Come explores the unlikely ties between an impoverished coal-mining town in Kentucky and Israel. Specifically, the film follows the Bluegrass State pastors and their Evangelical congregants who believe the Jews are crucial to Jesus return. (Cleveland Cinemas)

To the Ends of the Earth

Director Kiyoshi Kurosawas (Cure and Pulse) latest project is the black comedy To the Ends of the Earth, which stars J-pop icon Atusko Maeda. A Japanese TV reporter takes her travel show to Uzbekistan, where while searching for a mythical fish her life quickly unravels into a self-discovery journey. (Cinematheque)

The Tunnel

For those folks looking for a different type of disaster movie, Norways The Tunnel could be the answer. The high-concept film followers Christmas travelers trapped in a tunnel due to a tank truck explosion. Naturally, a raging blizzard hinders the arrival of first responders. (Cinematheque)

Two of Us

Frances official submission for the 2021 Oscar for Best International Feature Film is Two of Us, which follows two elderly women who have been neighbors -- as well as secret lovers -- for decades. Their decision to relocate to Rome and live openly is met with unexpected consequences. Viewers can view a pre-recorded, post-film discussion between writer/director Filippo Meneghetti, star Barbara Sukowa and international film icon Isabelle Huppert. (Cleveland Cinemas and Cinematheque)

True Mothers

Japans official submission for this years Oscar for Best International Feature Film is True Mothers, which is a heart-wrenching story about a married couples struggle to keep their adopted child after his birth mother arrives in the picture. (Cinematheque)

What Happened Was

Tom Noonans directorial debut, What Happened Was, which won the top prize at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, was recently restored. The film depicts the awkwardness associated with first dates when two lonely co-workers spend an uneasy Friday night together. (Cinematheque)

Women Composers

After realizing her repertoire consisted almost exclusively of music composed by men, Leipzig pianist Kyra Steckeweh began searching for pieces written by women. The result is new documentary Women Composers, which is receiving an apropos release date during Womens History Month. Steckeweh discusses the music and lives of Frances Mel Bonis and Lili Boulanger, as well as Germanys Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel. (Cinematheque)

You Will Die At Twenty

Billed as a coming-of-death fable, You Will Die At Twenty -- which is Sudans first-ever official submission for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film category -- is about a Sudanese boy who as an infant was prophesied to live for only two decades. Obviously stigmatized by the prediction, the child must overcome ridicule and an over-protective mother in order to live life to the fullest. (Cinematheque)

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Rose Plays Julie and Perfumes top this weeks streaming movies at Cleveland Cinemas and Cinematheque - cleveland.com

By any estimation, the Woody Allen business looks like its in terrible shape. The 85-year-old filmmaker was further ostracized by the industry when Allen v. Farrow, the four-part HBO series from directors Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, resurrected sexual assault allegations leveled against him by his daughter Dylan Farrow. Now, as the finale of Allen v. Farrow reverberates, some may assume that Allen has no path forward to keep making movies.

He does, of course. Pushback wont faze him hes got a decade of it under his belt nor will box-office ignominy, as his career has more of that than success. What about an entertainment industry thats actively hostile toward financing the small, specific, not-inexpensive dramas that he makes? Thats irrelevant: While hes intractable about the movies he makes, Allen appears to be infinitely flexible when it comes to financing and perhaps more than any major filmmaker working today doesnt care about what happens to his films after hes made them.

As Allen v. Farrow points out, Allens pariah status in the U.S. bears similarities to convicted rapist Roman Polanski, whose An Officer and a Spy won Frances Cesar Award for Best Film almost exactly a year ago. Like Allens latest film, Rifkins Festival, it has yet to secure U.S. distribution. With #MeToo pushback expanding across Europe, disgraced artists who once found sympathetic crowds abroad now look more vulnerable.

However, because Allen was never convicted of a crime and even the Allen v. Farrow allegations allow the filmmakers defenders to maintain their line of defense there is more leeway for the support system that enables him, and allows him to maintain the resources he needs to make movies, albeit outside of the U.S. As Diane Keaton said in the 2014 Golden Globes tribute sampled in the docuseries: Its safe to say that Woody Allen is an anomaly.

The current spate of Allen backlash has come in fits and starts, beginning with Ronan Farrows tweet criticizing the Golden Globes for airing an Allen tribute in 2014. That was followed by a piece by Farrow in The Hollywood Reporter on May 11, 2016, which overshadowed the premiere of Allens Cafe Society as the opening selection of the Cannes Film Festival. The #MeToo movement followed a year later with Harvey Weinsteins downfall.

Still, for Allen, the impact wasnt immediate apparent. In September 2017, Amazon Studios announced that it would distribute his next film, Wonder Wheel, as part of a multi-film deal. The next month, the world changed. The New York Times ran its Weinstein expose, followed by Farrows own reporting in The New Yorker; meanwhile, then-Amazon Studios president Roy Price was suspended over allegations of sexual misconduct and Amazon canceled the red carpet for the Wonder Wheel premiere at the New York Film Festival.

When A Rainy Day in New York came around in 2018, stars Timothee Chalamet and Elle Fanning distanced themselves from the project and Amazon dropped its U.S. distribution. The movie grossed about $22 million worldwide. (In the U.S., it fizzledtheatrically but briefly topped VOD charts.)

By then, Allen had completed his 49th feature, Rifkins Festival a self-referential comedy starring Wallace Shawn as neurotic film professor who accompanies his publicist wife (Gina Gershon) to the San Sebastin Film Festival. The movie offers no sense of a fallen auteur: Shot by world-class DP Vittorio Storaro, it turns on black-and-white homages to classic cinema that form the professors outrageous dreams, from Breathless to The Seventh Seal, the latter of which includes a cameo by Christoph Waltz. The Breathless bit is quite funny, but the schtick gets old and the romcom setup is tiring from the start. In a bizarro universe in which Allens scandals never happened, it would still rank as an underwhelming shrug from a filmmaker who never bothers to reflect on his failures.

Six months after it premiered at the very festival where it takes place, Rifkins Festival has yet to secure U.S. distribution. The movie did come out in Spain, where it grossed $1.3 million to date; Italian distributor Vision said it still planned to release the movie when theaters reopen. Signature Entertainment, the U.K.-based company that brought Rainy Day to North American theaters and VOD, did not respond to a request for comment about whether it would take on the new movie. The dwindling forces that allowed Rainy Day to find its way to the American market have dissipated for now, while even European markets historically sympathetic to his situation pull back.

Though Allen v. Farrow singles out longtime Allen publicist Leslee Dart as one of the forces responsible for managing blowback, Dart left 42 West, the company she co-founded, last year. She maintains a position at parent company Dolphin, but no longer represents Allen, who has no American publicist nor much need for one, since the market for his movies in the U.S. barely exists. (Hyperactives Caroline Turner continues to represent him overseas.) Requests for comment from 42 West were forwarded to Allens sister and longtime producer Letty Aronson, who hasnt responded to media inquiries beyond the joint statement from Allens camp lambasting Allen v. Farrow weeks ago.

His infrastructure looks frail, but Allens success or failure doesnt depend on industry savvy. Much of his career has been defined by commercial uncertainty, and outright failure, but hes had no shortage of people willing to give him money and leave him alone. All he requires is a lot of freedom, said one executive with a history of working with Allen. He never expects a picture to be a success, so he never gets angry and is always surprised when a picture is successful. Thats rare.

When Allen pivoted from his satirical work of the 60s and early 70s to the more acclaimed dramedies of Oscar juggernaut Annie Hall and Manhattan, he did so under the guidance of United Artists executive Arthur Krim, who gave Allen free rein. When Krim co-founded Orion in 1978, Allen followed and spent the prolific next decade of his career juggling more ambitious material (Zelig, Hannah and Her Sisters, Radio Days) as his international reputation continued to blossom. When Orion imploded at the end of the 80s, Allen scored a final-cut deal with TriStar Pictures to make Husbands and Wives. That flopped at the box office, leaving the studio disinterested.

Kristin Callahan/ACE/REX/Shutterstock

So Allen pivoted again, turning to private financing for much of the 90s, with producer Jean Doumanians Sweetland Films supporting the filmmaker on well-received work ranging from Bullets Over Broadway to Everyone Says I Love You. After the partnership ended in a lawsuit, Allen careened through a series of deals with Dreamworks, Searchlight, Focus, and The Weinstein Company, before settling with Sony Pictures Classics for seven movies. Three of these won Oscars Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Midnight in Paris, and Blue Jasmine, which also became the filmmakers highest-grossing release.

Allen left that arrangement because Amazon Studios, which signed a TV deal with him for the much-maligned 2016 miniseries Crisis in Six Scenes, lured him with a lucrative offer to finance his splashy ensemble comedy Cafe Society. Amazon also committed to Allens next two projects and insiders say the studio seemed to think little of the pushback at the time. It wasnt until Wonder Wheel hit the New York Film Festival the next year that the public outcry intensified. Though Allen received a standing ovation at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center possibly the last time he would be received that way for the New York audience that had embraced him for decades the wider response was at the other end of the spectrum.

People were really woke by then, one marketing executive involved in the release. The negative publicity had cut in. The way he delivers his movies, theres not a lot of time. Everybody was worried, but just had to ride it out.

Allen was in post-production on A Rainy Day in New York when Amazon decided not to release the movie and sever its ties to the director. Amazon executives were reportedly caught off-guard by the decision, which took place at the highest levels of the corporate hierarchy; the people who would have been tasked with working on the movie never even saw it. The filmmaker went on to sue the studio and win back the rights, which he sold to a set of international territories. In the meantime, Spanish production studio Mediapro signed on to finance Rifkins Festival.

Even now, Allen could garner another deep-pocketed supporter. He wants to be with people that want to be with him, said one executive with a history of working on several successful Allen ventures. He can get financing from wealthy individuals that want to back him. Theres probably always someone out there who would want to back Woody. In some cases, U.S. distributors of his work havent even been privy to the budgets of the movies before theyve boarded the projects.

That point remains critical because, many insiders agree, Allen would rather stop working than work for cheap. Hes fast, but his budgets tend to have sizable price tags both Wonder Wheel and A Rainy Day in New York cost $25 million and not only because of their name actors, many of whom would probably done the projects for free. Allen maintains a homegrown pace, sometimes reshooting large patches of his movies until hes satisfied, and insists on top-tier crew.

Anyone who supports Allen works on his terms. For now, he remains surrounded by the dealmakers who have guarded him for decades, including Aronson and ICM agent John Burnham. They dont try to hustle people, said one source familiar with the process. They never have.

The only enabler necessary for Allen to keep working is someone willing to write a check, and plenty of well-heeled figures, public and private, spend their money in ethically dubious ways. It doesnt feel like hes desperate to do this, one former producer said. He would only do it if he has total control. He wont be hired by somebody.

Still, Allen faces a broader cultural reckoning that makes its own decisions. Even if he does make another movie, his impact will continue to wane. The nebbishy Jewish caricature that cemented his brand years ago doesnt exactly register with the zeitgeist. A Rainy Day in New York likely found some measure of success due to the profitable allure of its young star, Timothee Chalamet.

However, the obnoxious, self-obsessed characters and their ravenous sexual appetites found in many of Allens earlier movies dont parse in 2021. The scandals mean respected actors are increasingly unlikely to associate themselves with his work, much less nurse a romantic obsession with it. Then there are the movies themselves, which zig-zag through half-baked ideas that read as reductive variations of formulas he exhausted long ago.

For those of us who grew up adoring much of Allens early versatility, the diminished returns often register as a repudiation of nostalgia. There are passionate Allen fans across the industry who still defend him, albeit in whispered tones, proclaiming the injustices committed against a major artist ostracized in the court of public opinion. People who have never read legal briefings or shown much investment in sexual assault cases now see themselves as bold truth-tellers in service of Allens exoneration.Its a wonder how much better those efforts would work toward advocating for stronger artists worth the investment.

HBO

Allen v. Farrow lacks Allens perspective beyond audio clips from his recent memoir, but a more balanced take wouldnt change the appetite for his hit-or-miss oeuvre. Hes explored combustible relationships through intellectual soul-searching, and laced bleak, Bergman-esque melodrama with intrigue, but his movies no longer make a case for their own survival.

Allen and his financiers share a general indifference to negative publicity, but the world at large seems all too eager to move on without him. It would be convenient to conclude that Allen v. Farrow will serve as the sour coda to Allens career, but theres a lot of competition for that slot between industry attrition, shifting cultural interests, and the filmmakers own apparent disinterest to his fate. It has become a clich to cite Allens Annie Hall line that he would never join a club that would allow a person like me to be a member. Allen was quoting Groucho Marx, but its not the only time the director has received more credit than hes due.

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What Will It Take to Stop Woody Allens Career? Why Allen v. Farrow Isnt Enough - IndieWire

Utahs technology sector continues to make waves, with five metro areas topping the Milken Institutes tech-focused Best-Performing Cities index. Utahs software, consumer tech, and health tech sectors are turning heads and attracting huge amounts of money and prestige.

To see where Utahs next big tech boom will come from, you need to look up way up. After quietly building momentum for decades, Utahs aerospace industry is primed for a prolonged heyday, fueled by an innovation imperative across the civil, defense, and space sectors. Utah is home to established players and startups alike who are pushing the boundaries of whats possible in space and sky to drive next-level innovations and secure our future against evolving threats.

Over the next decade and beyond, Utahs aerospace industry will make major contributions to the kinds of breakthroughs future generations will read about in history books. Along the way, the nearly 1,000 aerospace companies in Utah will bring boomtown economic benefits to the Beehive State.

Utah has a robust, if underhyped, aerospace heritage that goes back nearly a century. In 1930, Hill Air Force Base was established in northern Utah as major supply, repair, and logistics hub. Located 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, Hill AFB has been a critical military outpost through times of peace and conflict, including World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, and Operation Desert Storm. Today, its a major test site for the vaunted F-35 fighter jet.

In the private sector, successful homegrown companies and industry consolidation have attracted some of the worlds largest and most influential aerospace companies to Utah, including major Tier 1 suppliers, Original Equipment Manufacturers, and big divisions of aerospace manufacturers such as L3-Harris, Lockheed Martin, and Parker Hannifin. Northrop Grumman owes its massive Utah presence7,000 Utah employees and counting to the rollup of Hercules, Thiokol, and Orbital ATK over the past few decades.

On the scrappier side, Utah has a proud entrepreneurial history in aerospace. Four decades ago, St. George residents Ray and Melzie Ganowsky started RAM Company, an aerospace engineering and manufacturing operation, in their garage. Today, RAM Company is one of Southern Utahs largest private employers and has put precision valves on major civil, defense, and space platforms, including the commercial crew transport capsules currently contracted by NASA to shuttle astronauts to and from the space station.

Its been a while since the last Charles Lindbergh or Neil Armstrong moment. The world is yearning for another cultural and technological zeitgeist to shift our perception of whats possible.

Powerful forces are converging to put renewed focus on aerospace. For starters, theres growing demand to get people from one part of the planet to another faster, more efficiently, and with less hassle. At a higher altitude, nation-states are competing in a new space race, punctuated by the US, China, and United Arab Emirates all launching successful Mars missions in recent weeks. On the defense side, global threats are evolving with next-generation cyber-attacks, unmanned drones, and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

These colliding vectors have produced an innovation imperative across the civil aviation, defense aerospace, and space sectors. For decades, aerospace has operated on incrementalism and a zero-risk mentality. Today, innovation has replaced incrementalism and a zero-boundaries mentality has supplanted the zero-risk mindset. We cant afford to tip-toe toward progress anymore.

This impacts every aspect of the nearly trillion-dollar global aerospace industry. Its even upending how defense contracts are awarded. Dr. Will Roper, the former procurement chief for the US Air Force, wrote, Our clunky, Cold War-era process of defense procurement is in need of a major refresh. While it still produces world-leading military systems, its escalating timelines and cost are unsustainable byproducts. The stark contrast with commercial industry warns the US military may have peaked, unless we find a better waysoon.

This shift to zero-boundaries thinking gave birth to the digital engineering movement, a technical discipline pioneered by our teams at Northrop Grumman for customers across every military branch. In years past, the pace of innovation in aerospace was slowed by having to physically design, build, and test everything at every stage. Now, thanks to step-function leaps in computing technology, we can use data instead of documents to prove out nearly every phase of even the most ambitious megaproject.

The innovation imperative has major implications for the aerospace supply chain, as well. You cant build tomorrows innovations with yesterdays technologies. We need more investment in downstream technologies to unlock upstream breakthroughs. This reality is unleashing a land grab among highly technical aerospace suppliers.

Today, theres a palpable energy in Utahs aerospace industry that reminds us of the software buzz 8-10 years ago. Its tangible and firm. You can feel it.

Over the next decade, aerospace will bring thousands of jobs, billions in wages, and hundreds of millions in tax revenue and capital improvements to Utah. As Val Hale, former executive director of the Governors Office of Economic Development, wrote in the Deseret News, Utahs aerospace and defense industry plays a vital role in our states economy. The aerospace industry accounts for approximately 944 different businesses, with more than 31,390 jobs. Its projected to grow by two percent per year over the next decade. The innovative technologies developed by these companies diversify our supply chain and fuel the growth of our economy.

The Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Program is a shining example of the innovation imperative bringing big opportunities to Utah. The GBSD is the most ambitious overhaul of American ICBM infrastructure in history, and its being spearheaded by a sophisticated digital engineering effort at Northrop Grummans Utah outpost. This program will make America safer, create a unified collaboration environment that benefits every branch of the US military, and will lead to as many as 100 new high paying jobs in Utah every month for the foreseeable future. We cant hire fast enough to fuel this vital program.

In the supply chain, and at the other end of the I-15 corridor, Utah will play a big role in enabling future breakthroughs with startup innovations. At Intergalactic, were developing novel thermal management technology that is a missing link in many mind-bending possibilities, including electric flight, supersonic air travel, and even interplanetary exploration. As an anchor tenant on Tech Ridge in St. George, we hope to be a literal light on the hill to attract great technical talent, strategic investment, and innovative partners to the red rocks of Southern Utah.

Theres a renaissance happening in aerospace. Were on the cusp on major breakthroughs that will completely change our world, and Utah is right in the middle of it. We hope these unprecedented opportunities inspire a new generation of Utah professionals to pursue careers in mechanical, electrical, and software engineering. Lets do historically big things together.

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Utah's next big tech boom is coming in aerospace - Utah Business - Utah Business

Amazon Studios set a personal record for Oscar nominations this morning with 12 nominations, beating its previous record of seven, set in 2017 by Manchester By The Sea.

Amazons dozen noms were spread over four films. The standout was Sound of Metal, which got six nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor in Riz Ahmed and Best Supporting Actor in Paul Raci. There were also three for One Night in Miami, including Best Supporting Actor for Leslie Odom Jr and his portrayal as Sam Cooke; two for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, with Bulgarian newcomer Maria Bakalova for Best Supporting Actress, and Adapted Screenplay, which star Sacha Baron Cohen shared with seven other scribes (good luck with that one, Academy). The final nomination came in the Best Documentary Feature Category, for Time.

The nominations reflect a strong year for streamers, in a pandemic year. Netflix, with Best Picture noms for Mank and The Trial of the Chicago 7, got at least 25 nominations; even Apple, which just got started a little over a year ago, got two including Best Animated Feature in Wolfwalkers.

Amazon Studios isnt matching the Netflix volume; for her, head Jennifer Salke told Deadline that she was most pleased that the Academy recognition matched the Amazons film team goal, which was to lean into diversity in its storytelling.

Its a happy and exciting morning for us, Salke said. The goal from the beginning was to have as many diverse stories as we can tell, and to create an environment for inclusion and diversity. That is the nature of the four films the biggest win her is to see that the films connected so meaningfully in creating global cultural zeitgeist moments.

This has been the most unusual Oscar season in memory because of the pandemic, but Salke said that the Amazon marketing team will not let up as the lightning round gets underway, before the winners are crowned on April 25.

These nominations are a big win for us, but well stay right on track, and take it to the end, strongly, she said. It is so gratifying to see these creative teams rewarded with attention today.

The films all took different paths to get here. For Sound of Metal, it was a slow build after its premiere in the 2019 Toronto Film Festival. Borat involved a move from Universal to Amazon because Baron Cohen was insistent that the film had to appear during the heat of the Presidential election, and it certainly made ex-President Donald Trump look as bad as Baron Cohen intended to. That film became one of the most memorable zeitgeist features a streamer has had so far, and One Night in Miami, which Kemp Powers adapted from his stage play about an imagined night together between Sam Cooke, Jim Brown, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali at critical points in the Civil Rights movement, as directed by Regina King.

To beat Manchester By The Seas showing, Amazon will need to surpass the two Oscars it won in 2017, the gold going to Casey Affleck for Best Actor and to writer/director Kenneth Lonergan for Best Screenplay.

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Amazon Studios Sets Oscar Record With 12 Noms; Jennifer Salke Calls It Recognition For A Lean Into Diversity - Deadline

One of the most-watched shows on Netflix this week is about teenagers calling out sexism.

Moxie, directed by Amy Poehler of Mean Girls fame, tells the story of shy 16-year-old Vivian, who publishes an anonymous zine criticising sexist behaviour and misogyny at her high school after becoming inspired by her mum's feminist roots.

It's a timely tale that celebrates the power of grassroots activism and it leaves viewers feeling hopeful that today's girls might just save the world.

But film and gender experts saythe film is far from perfect in its attempt to reflect the concerns of a new generation of activists.

There's no doubt that Moxie, like other Netflix young adult offerings before it including Sex Education and Never Have I Ever, represents a leap forward from the shows endured by previous generations.

On shows like Porky's, Happy Days, The Benny Hill Showand The Paul Hogan Show"women were blatantly objectified and sexism and harassment were normalised and often celebrated", says Catherine Manning,chief executive of Self-Esteem Education and Developmentwhich runs in-school programs covering respectful relationships andsexism.

In the '90s, on-screen favourites such as Beverly Hills 90210 all too often blamed the victim of sexual assault.

Supplied: Netflix

Moxie succeeds in illustrating how small, everyday gender microaggressions exist on the same spectrum as sexual assault and violence, says Dr Jessica Ford, lecturerand researcher in the gender-based violence research group at the University of Newcastle.

"It's not that in one category over here we have microaggressions and dismissing of girls' feelings, and then over here we have stranger rape; they're all part of the same thing," she explains.

Thus, when a male character antagonises a female classmate early in the film, she refuses to let him be dismissed as merely "annoying", telling her friend: "You know that annoying can be more than just annoying, right? Like, it can be code for worse stuff."

It's an apt observation and, indeed, that character goes on to do worse things throughout the course of the film.

Despite these successes, it's not enough for teen stories to successfully depict or even call out sexism.

"The challenge is to make films that young people can engage and identify with," Ms Manning says.

One difficulty in this regard? Moxie as with most films and TV shows targeting teens and young people was not actually made by young people, says Dr Radha O'Meara, a screenwriting lecturer at The University of Melbourne.

Supplied: IMDB

"For something to be produced on that scale, it is usually led by people who are middle-aged, as Moxie and Promising Young Woman were," she says.

"And funding approval usually comes from older white men."

There's also the risk that the film will come off as talking down to younger audiences.

"The thing that strikes me about Moxie[is that] I can't imagine a 15- or 16-year-old girl being like, 'Yeah, Riot grrrl, 1990s, Bikini Kill, Kathleen Hanna.' I love that music but that's the music of my generation, that's not the music of their generation," says Dr Ford.

"If we were going to have a musical figure that was going to instigate and enrage and incite the sort of feminist impulse of these young women, why wasn't it Billie Eilish and Lizzo or somebody who is of the moment now?"

Lacking that zeitgeist can turn some audiences off: "At the slightest hint of cringe they will turn off and away," says Ms Manning.

Films that fail to engage young audiences can still serve as "great conversation starters for parents to open up discussions with their teens and check in about how much they understand about consent, respect and autonomy," she says.

But that's not the same thing as directly engaging young women (or young men, whom Ms Manning says are also key to social change) with their message.

Moxie is a film that tries hard to be inclusive. In reality, the film problematically centres on the experience of white feminists.

Supplied: Netflix

"We have the figure of [Afro-Latina character] Lucy, who is the one who inspires and encourages the whole movement at the school," Dr Ford says.

But Lucy is sidelined as a friend rather than the film's protagonist.

"The movie is about the young white girl, which is sort of frustrating. I want to see the movie about Lucy's character, but that movie doesn't necessarily get made."

Ultimately, young adult films like Moxie are "a great start and certainly have the potential to impact",as Ms Manning puts it.

"We still have a long way to go in ensuring stories are told by people of diverse backgrounds that tackle social issues in positive and powerful ways for change to be far-reaching."

To really reflect the social activism of today's young feminists, we'd need to hear directly from young people in all their diversity about what troubles and inspires them.

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Netflix's feminist movie Moxie is about young people, not by them and it shows - ABC News

Its Musics Biggest Night! Well, Sunday is. Thats right, the 2021 Grammy Awards are happening, and while the event is going the mostly-virtual route of other award shows, there will still be the famous gift bags for nominees.

Every year, its fun to see what products are trending, and the overall theme of the bag is a good way to capture the current zeitgeist. This year, the bag features products meant to convey a sense of diversity, representing companies owned and operated by individuals across race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, age, persons with disabilities and beyond, according to Lash Fary, founder of Distinctive Assets, who has been curating the Grammy Awards bag for 22 years.

Unlike other years, the value of the bag hasnt been disclosed for 2021, with Fary saying that the real value is that were elevating and shining a light on these diverse brands. Also unlike other years, but consistent with 2020 plans, the bags will be delivered directly to show participants via mail, rather than in a communal gift suite.

Radio.com reported that a lot of the items come from BIPOC-owned/operated companies. Others come from companies that have contributed funds to relevant causes, such as PepsiCo, which contributed $400 million to support Black communities. PepsiCo owns Frito-Lay, meaning Grammy attendees will get to chow down on a bag of Ruffles Flamin Hot BBQ potato chips.

Some other stand-out products include:

Giving gifts is always a lovely thing, even in the worst of times, Fary said. With the coronavirus pandemic, systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter movement, theres so much going on in the world, it would be irresponsible of us to put together a gift bag for a global music event like the Grammys and not acknowledge whats happening in the world. From the outside looking in, it looks like an amazingly fun gift bag, and then when you look closer, its so heartwarming.

Heres the whole list of companies and products in this years bag, courtesy of Radio.com.

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This Year's Grammy Gift Bag Is All About Diversity and Inclusion - Promo Marketing

Back in March 2011, the first-person action shooter Homefront arrived on the Xbox 360 from THQ, along with a storm of publicity which included a really cool live-action trailer:

The blockbuster-style marketing campaign bolstered its profile and it became one of the years most anticipated games. Set in the near future where the western United States are occupied by unified Korean forces (led by the North), the game follows a group of resistance fighters looking to free those imprisoned by the invaders and take back their homelands.

While it looked set to be a potential challenger in a genre dominated by big names, the hype turned out to be just so. The reviews for Homefront were mostly positive but far from enthusiastic, with the game being taken to task for its short length and not doing enough to differentiate itself from other first-person shooters.

It also courted some controversy, with the publishers denying the game was cashing in on rising real-world tensions in the region. Closely skirting reality, though, caused enough discomfort to see the game banned in South Korea and heavily censored in Japan. Still, it sold 375,000 copies on its first day and more than two million were shipped in total bigging itself up seemed to work.

Gameplay begins with a closed scene of the playable character, Jacobs, saved from being taken to a re-education centre and thrust into the heart of the action picking up a gun and taking up the fight against the Korean oppressors. From there, playing Homefront will feel very familiar to anyone well-versed in games of this type, with its first-person setup and recognisable controls right trigger to fire weapons, X button to pick up items. There is nothing really that the game gets wrong, but it in no way re-defines the wheel and there isnt much about it that is exceptional.

While comparisons to Call of Duty, which set new standards for the genre, may not be fair for a new game seeking recognition, they are also inevitable, particularly as CoD is a clear aspiration for Homefront. Here though the less polished presentation and more sluggish character movement already put Homefront in the shadow of the games that it is aspiring to.

It does, though, have its own USPs, one being the setting. Popular locations for first person shooters such as Russia and the Middle East are eschewed in Homefront for small-town America. Gun battles here take place in mini-malls and cul-de-sacs, all of which are nicely designed and well-detailed, effectively completing the illusion of a more dystopian version of a normally glamorous location.

The game also has its share of memorable moments, including a mission on the Golden Gate Bridge, the escape from a forced labour camp and its simalcrum of the famous Wolverines mission from Modern Warfare 2, which here takes place in a Hooters. This is one of a number of brands to feature in the game, but easily the funniest when given a name-check.

The plot of Homefront is worth particular scrutiny. One of the biggest boasts made by the game makers was that assisting with the games story was renowned screenwriter John Milius. Among his credits of Apocalypse Now and Conan the Barbarian is the original Red Dawn from 1984, an important reference point for this game. It should be pointed out that Milius served as Homefronts story consultant, not writer, though he did pen the tie-in novel, The Voice of Freedom, with Raymond Benson.

That film saw Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen lead a group of small-town dwellers becoming freedom fighters on a mission to thwart an attempted invasion of the US by the Soviet Union. Flash forward almost three decades and the everyman heroes of Homefront are fighting off a different kind of red menace.

When it was first released, Red Dawn was criticised both for its excessive violence and apparent nationalist viewpoint. Both can also be said of Homefront; it is violent and it is sensationalist. This doesnt hurt the gameplay but in an age where jingoism is rife in America, it could make for a little discomfort that would affect its longevity, particularly in those who dont share its outlook.

Some events of the games backstory turned out to be surprisingly accurate though the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in 2012, the subsequent takeover by his son Kim Jong-Un, America devastated by a deadly virus. Others are just standard scaremongering in keeping with the zeitgeist of the time, such as casting North Korea as politically correct supervillains.

In truth, these plot elements are just there to set up the action and dont come up much while playing the game, but can be seen as inflammatory. It is the ultimate fantasy for the flag-waving American, to stand up and defend the country should it come under attack by foreign invaders. Whether or not the neo-conservative themes that emerge in Homefront were intentional, it does seem to be one of the demographics the game would appeal to.

It is fun while it lasts, but Homefront will never be revolutionary; a game that has little to set it apart from competitors. There is however an audience that will appreciate it most fans of the first-person shooter, particularly those who can see that it is a product of its time. If you find yourself in that group then you will be able to find copies of the game for cheap on Amazon, whilst digital copies are available from the Xbox Store.

Link:

Looking back to 2011 and the arrival of Homefront - TheXboxHub

The 2021 Grammy Awards have been mired with controversy since, well, the 2020 Grammy Awards. Almost directly after the 2020 ceremony, the music industry was thrust into an unprecedented level of uncertainty and turmoil courtesy of COVID-19. Then, as the nominees for the forthcoming ceremony were announced, the Recording Academy's reputation for overlooking artists of colour, particularly Black artists, was back in the spotlight as The Weeknd responsible for easily the biggest song and one of the biggest albums of 2020 was completely overlooked. Slowly but surely, artists like Halsey, Drake and more denounced the ceremony as an inaccurate arbiter of musical excellence in 2021. Coming off the back of a year where the world was completely mobilised by the Black Lives Matter movement, the strange snub of Black artists, especially The Weeknd, feels bizarre at best.

So, from the outset, the 2021 ceremony looked to be one of redemption, as the Recording Academy would inevitably try and scramble to right some perceived wrongs. And that's exactly what happened.

First, there's the biggest talking point of the night, and of all nights: Beyonc. In recent years, when Beyonc's name is found in the same sentence as the Grammys, it's in reference to her snubs. She famously lost 'Album Of The Year' with her self-titled album in 2015 to Beck's Morning Phase, only to have the same thing happen again in 2017 with Lemonade, losing to Adele's 25. Beyonc and Lemonade remain as two of the most memorable and acclaimed albums of the past decade, with their impact on pop culture still being felt years later. So both losses seem even more egregious in hindsight. As Adele plainly said after winning for 25: "What the fuck does Beyonc have to do to win 'Album Of The Year?'"

The Grammys' first attempt to redeem themselves in 2021 came with the nominations, where Beyonc led with nine. This is despite the fact that she only released one song in 2020, and had one featured verse on another. Yet, she ended up walking away with four trophies 'Best Music Video', 'Best R&B Performance' for "Black Parade", and 'Best Rap Song' as well as 'Best Rap Performance' for "Savage (Remix)" alongside Megan Thee Stallion. These four wins bring Beyonc's Grammy wins up to 28, making her the most awarded woman and the most awarded singer in the history of the Grammys (she also ties second with Quincy Jones for most Grammy wins ever). If she wins just four more, she will hold the record for that too, which is currently held by late composer Sir Georg Solti.

A huge accomplishment? Absolutely. Even more so when you think about how most of Beyonc's recent work has been explicitly about Blackness a topic the Grammys have been perceived as not wanting to celebrate. Need we remind you that Kendrick Lamar didn't win 'Album Of The Year' for To Pimp A Butterfly? Despite Beyonc having never won for 'Album' or 'Record Of The Year' arguably the two biggest awards of the night she can still count 28 trophies to her name. The Recording Academy haven't given her the top tier prestige she so richly deserves, but the number of smaller awards they've given her have amassed to such an amount that she can still be celebrated. She might not have won for her self-titled album i.e the album that literally broke the internet and is the reason music is released on Fridays but still made Grammys history. So, by the Recording Academy's standards, a major wrong was made right.

Another history maker at the 2021 Grammys is Taylor Swift, who predictably took home 'Album Of The Year' for folklore. The win has meant Swift has become the only woman to have won the award three times, after winning in 2010 for Fearless and 2016 for 1989 where she, of course, beat out To Pimp A Butterfly.

Her win was almost a foregone conclusion. folklore is beloved by fans and critics alike; the only other albums in the category that even got close to that sort of fanfare were Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia and, at least critically, Haim's Women In Music, Pt. III. So she wasn't exactly up against the stiffest competition, in my opinion.

folklore probably is the best album in this year's 'Album Of The Year' category. It sold incredibly well, marked yet another sharp turn in sonic direction for Taylor Swift and became the first album she had released by surprise an incredibly successful, yet risky, marketing tactic that was, once again, pioneered by Beyonc's self-titled album. Swift was holding every ace album sales, critical acclaim and the chance to make history. This created the perfect environment for the Recording Academy to give her the award, repairing their relationship with Swift for the past 'snubs' of reputation and Lover, which both failed to get nominated for the AOTY award, and, more importantly, her fans.

Of course, not every redemption attempt the Grammys made last night were on the same scale as that of Beyonc or Taylor Swift. It even came down to the smallest of details. H.E.R. won 'Song Of The Year' for "I Can't Breathe", a track that captured the zeitgeist following the murder of George Floyd's but didn't perform nearly as well as pretty much every other song in the category either critically or commercially. Lil Baby, who received two nominations and zero wins, was given license to perform an incredibly provoking rendition of his track "The Bigger Picture" alongside activist Tamika Mallory as well as Killer Mike, who is no stranger to condemning police brutality in the frankest of terms. Dua Lipa, who previously called out the Recording Academy's sexism on stage at the Grammys, was given six nominations and even won for 'Best Pop Vocal Album'.

The Recording Academy is even looking ahead, making sure to invest in stars that actually reflect the culture. Megan Thee Stallion walked away with three of the four awards she was nominated for, a decision that makes sense given her impact on both music and society throughout the year. One of these awards was for 'Best New Artist', where she was up against two more female rappers, Doja Cat and CHIKA the most ever represented in that category.

None of this is to say that any of these wins weren't otherwise warranted. In fact, 2021 stands to be one of the few ceremonies in recent years where everyone seems pretty pleased with who won what, in no small measure due to the diversity sonic and otherwise of the winners themselves. We didn't get a predictable sweep like last year with Billie Eilish or a few years ago with Adele. Instead we got a somewhat accurate reflection of the U.S. music scene as it stands today, or at least accurate by the Recording Academy's standards.

Chair & Interim President of the Recording Academy Harvey Mason Jr. delivered a speech at last night's Grammy Awards that, despite being strangely reminiscent of a political campaign, tried to assure more transparency from the ceremony going forward. In return, he asked for the stakeholders to work with the Recording Academy, and not against them. Whether he's telling the truth, and whether artists like The Weeknd or Halsey will buy it, remains to be seen. But the 2021 ceremony at the very least gave the appearance that the Recording Academy is trying.

Of course, this redemption journey is far from over BTS' loss for "Dynamite" will no doubt see the Recording Academy's social media accounts torched for weeks, especially since it lost to Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande's "Rain On Me" that, while an absolute bop, lacked the cultural impact of "Dynamite".

Considering how plain, predictable and pass I've found the Grammy Awards to be in recent years, 2021's showing suggests we may finally be heading in the right direction.

This is an opinion piece, written by Jackson Langford, music contributor at MTV Australia. Hot takes at @jacksonlangford and hotter pics at @jacksonlangford.

Editor's Note: MTV and Channel 10 are both subsidiaries of ViacomCBS.

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OPINION: In 2021, The Grammy Awards Search For Redemption | News - MTV News Australia