Exclusive: Munya Chawawa is taking his BAFTA-nominated How to Survive a Dictator brand to one of the most notorious places on Earth.
The viral comedian is shining a spotlight on North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un via a Channel 4 doc from Late Night Lycett producer Rumpus Media, which will be at Sheffield DocFest next month.
Chawawa, known for his recognizable brand of satirical humor and a regular on British TV, will head to Switzerland, Seoul and suburban West London for How to Survive a Dictator: North Korea, tracking down a school friend of Kim’s and meeting the people who have seen the effects of the Kim regime first hand. In the West, Kim is often presented as a maniac ready to blow up the world, but he has confounded critics during his 12-year reign, enjoying bromances with Donald Trump, Dennis Rodman and Vladimir Putin.
“It’s been tricky to...
The viral comedian is shining a spotlight on North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un via a Channel 4 doc from Late Night Lycett producer Rumpus Media, which will be at Sheffield DocFest next month.
Chawawa, known for his recognizable brand of satirical humor and a regular on British TV, will head to Switzerland, Seoul and suburban West London for How to Survive a Dictator: North Korea, tracking down a school friend of Kim’s and meeting the people who have seen the effects of the Kim regime first hand. In the West, Kim is often presented as a maniac ready to blow up the world, but he has confounded critics during his 12-year reign, enjoying bromances with Donald Trump, Dennis Rodman and Vladimir Putin.
“It’s been tricky to...
- 5/30/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Kim Jong Un has been accused of sending balloons filled with poop and trash into South Korea in a “tit-for-tat” response to anti-Pyongyang leaflets and other materials including K-pop music videos.
According to a report from the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff has claimed their adversary floated more than 260 balloons across the border since Tuesday night containing “various pieces of trash, such as plastic bottles, batteries, shoe parts, and even manure.”
Per Reuters, North Korean defectors and South Korean activists “regularly” send balloons containing Usb sticks loaded with K-pop music videos and K-dramas, anti-Pyongyang leaflets, food, medicine, and money across the border.
On Sunday, North Korea’s Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang Il slammed the South Korean balloons as “despicable psychological warfare” and a “dangerous provocation” that would be met with “mounds of waste paper and filth” in response.
Kim Jong Un has been...
According to a report from the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff has claimed their adversary floated more than 260 balloons across the border since Tuesday night containing “various pieces of trash, such as plastic bottles, batteries, shoe parts, and even manure.”
Per Reuters, North Korean defectors and South Korean activists “regularly” send balloons containing Usb sticks loaded with K-pop music videos and K-dramas, anti-Pyongyang leaflets, food, medicine, and money across the border.
On Sunday, North Korea’s Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang Il slammed the South Korean balloons as “despicable psychological warfare” and a “dangerous provocation” that would be met with “mounds of waste paper and filth” in response.
Kim Jong Un has been...
- 5/29/2024
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
Critics are blasting Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) for her poor management of the state of Arkansas while she eyes the national spotlight.
Arkansas chicken growers are still reeling after the state euthanized a million chickens last year.
The Huckabee-run Arkansas Department of Agriculture helped kill the chickens for Cooks Venture, a poultry firm closed due to financial issues.
The state Legislature’s Joint Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development heard testimony his month that the cull had been poorly managed and messaged.
It’s just the latest scandal to beset the Huckabee administration, which is in turmoil as the governor eyes a potential cabinet position in a second Trump administration.
In March 2023, Sanders signed House Bill 1410, also known as the Youth Hiring Act of 2023, which would eliminate a measure requiring employers to procure work certificates for children under the age of 16.
Critics said it was a thinly...
Arkansas chicken growers are still reeling after the state euthanized a million chickens last year.
The Huckabee-run Arkansas Department of Agriculture helped kill the chickens for Cooks Venture, a poultry firm closed due to financial issues.
The state Legislature’s Joint Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development heard testimony his month that the cull had been poorly managed and messaged.
It’s just the latest scandal to beset the Huckabee administration, which is in turmoil as the governor eyes a potential cabinet position in a second Trump administration.
In March 2023, Sanders signed House Bill 1410, also known as the Youth Hiring Act of 2023, which would eliminate a measure requiring employers to procure work certificates for children under the age of 16.
Critics said it was a thinly...
- 5/22/2024
- by Alessio Atria
- Uinterview
After Jean-Luc Godard, Leos Carax is probably the French filmmaker most associated with the term enfant terrible. In some ways, he’s been even more terrible than Godard ever was, adopting a pseudonym (he was born Alex Dupont) as a teenager and bursting onto the scene at age 24 with Boy Meets Girl — Godard made Breathless when he was 30 — which immediately turned him into a major young auteur to be reckoned with.
He followed that up with the powerful, AIDS-inspired Mauvais Sang, and then made The Lovers on the Bridge, a film infamous for being a French Heaven’s Gate that went way over budget and flopped (it’s still a fantastic movie). After that Carax disappeared for a while, then reemerged to make a few shorts, compose pop songs and shoot a new feature every decade, the last one being the Adam Driver-Marion Cotillard starrer, Annette.
His latest work, the medium-length,...
He followed that up with the powerful, AIDS-inspired Mauvais Sang, and then made The Lovers on the Bridge, a film infamous for being a French Heaven’s Gate that went way over budget and flopped (it’s still a fantastic movie). After that Carax disappeared for a while, then reemerged to make a few shorts, compose pop songs and shoot a new feature every decade, the last one being the Adam Driver-Marion Cotillard starrer, Annette.
His latest work, the medium-length,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s new book is facing yet another controversy over her claim that she canceled a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron after his comments about the Israel-Hamas war. The French government has now officially denied she was ever offered such a meeting.
For weeks, Noem’s memoir No Going Back has been criticized after a story that she shot her family dog in it was revealed.
The governor also said she met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but had to retract that story when fact-checkers proved it was not true.
According to Noem’s book, “While in Paris, I was slated to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron. However, the day before we were to meet he made what I considered a very pro-Hamas and anti-Israel comment to the press. So, I decided to cancel.”
Noem was invited to sit in Macron...
For weeks, Noem’s memoir No Going Back has been criticized after a story that she shot her family dog in it was revealed.
The governor also said she met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but had to retract that story when fact-checkers proved it was not true.
According to Noem’s book, “While in Paris, I was slated to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron. However, the day before we were to meet he made what I considered a very pro-Hamas and anti-Israel comment to the press. So, I decided to cancel.”
Noem was invited to sit in Macron...
- 5/18/2024
- by Anushka Desai
- Uinterview
When he’s not writing his new bestsellers, he’s watching and reading other people’s works. Stephen King has been on a quest to bring the best movies and books to his fans’ attention for years, and his most recent recommendation definitely deserves more of it. This overlooked Spanish horror has a silly premise and an extremely tense execution that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat with clenched teeth.
Can Domestic Furniture Be Genuinely Terrifying?
Starting off strong with a seemingly innocent Biblical reference, we have a happy couple: Jesús and Maria. They’re in love with each other, but there’s one thing that bugs Jesús, and it’s that his significant other is very controlling. Like, Kim Jong-un level of controlling — there hasn’t been a single decision in their life made by him.
One day, Jesús decides to prove to himself and Maria...
Can Domestic Furniture Be Genuinely Terrifying?
Starting off strong with a seemingly innocent Biblical reference, we have a happy couple: Jesús and Maria. They’re in love with each other, but there’s one thing that bugs Jesús, and it’s that his significant other is very controlling. Like, Kim Jong-un level of controlling — there hasn’t been a single decision in their life made by him.
One day, Jesús decides to prove to himself and Maria...
- 5/13/2024
- by dean-black@startefacts.com (Dean Black)
- STartefacts.com
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem embarked this week on one of the more tumultuous book tours in recent memory, as she was peppered with questions about an anecdote about killing her dog Cricket, and another story about meeting North Korean leader Kim Jung Un. Major doubts were raised that the latter story was true.
As she sought to promote No Going Back, she was peppered with questions in interviews with mainstream outlets like Face the Nation and NewsNation, but some of the most contentious Q&a have been with those on the right, like Fox Business’ Stuart Varney and Newsmax. The book was an obvious was of getting attention as Donald Trump considers potential running mates, but Rob Finnerty of Newsmax went so far as to tell her, directly, “I don’t even think you’re on the list.”
Now Noem has started to cancel media appearances.
CNN’s Dana Bash told viewers today that,...
As she sought to promote No Going Back, she was peppered with questions in interviews with mainstream outlets like Face the Nation and NewsNation, but some of the most contentious Q&a have been with those on the right, like Fox Business’ Stuart Varney and Newsmax. The book was an obvious was of getting attention as Donald Trump considers potential running mates, but Rob Finnerty of Newsmax went so far as to tell her, directly, “I don’t even think you’re on the list.”
Now Noem has started to cancel media appearances.
CNN’s Dana Bash told viewers today that,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem sparked controversy for detailing the killing of her farm dog, Cricket, in her new memoir No Going Back. In the book, Noem claims she shot the 14-month-old wirehaired pointer because she was “untrainable.” Noem said she also shot her goat on the same day due to behavior issues. Noem was met with outrage on social media.
In an interview with CBS News’ Margaret Brennan on Sunday, Noem suggested President Joe Biden‘s dog, Commander, should’ve met the same fate. Commander, a German shepherd, was involved in 24 biting incidents between October 2022 and July 2023. The dog was removed from the White House.
In the Face the Nation interview, Brennan asked Noem if she was trying to “look tough.”
“You say the very first thing you would do if you got to the White House that was different from Joe Biden if you’d make sure...
In an interview with CBS News’ Margaret Brennan on Sunday, Noem suggested President Joe Biden‘s dog, Commander, should’ve met the same fate. Commander, a German shepherd, was involved in 24 biting incidents between October 2022 and July 2023. The dog was removed from the White House.
In the Face the Nation interview, Brennan asked Noem if she was trying to “look tough.”
“You say the very first thing you would do if you got to the White House that was different from Joe Biden if you’d make sure...
- 5/6/2024
- by Ann Hoang
- Uinterview
The publisher behind Kristi Noem’s new political memoir, No Going Back, may be wishing they could take it all back.
On Monday, Noem again ducked questions about her claims of meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, once again refusing to discuss her interactions with world leaders when questioned by a panel on CBS Mornings.
“Did you tell your ghostwriter to write that?” host Natalie Morales asked.
Noem hedged: “No, I have specifically worked on policy for 30 years. And over that time I have traveled around the world and...
On Monday, Noem again ducked questions about her claims of meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, once again refusing to discuss her interactions with world leaders when questioned by a panel on CBS Mornings.
“Did you tell your ghostwriter to write that?” host Natalie Morales asked.
Noem hedged: “No, I have specifically worked on policy for 30 years. And over that time I have traveled around the world and...
- 5/6/2024
- by Nikki McCann Ramirez
- Rollingstone.com
After shooting her own dog, Kristi Noem now seems to be gunning for Joe Biden’s pooch, Commander. In a trainwreck of an interview, Noem defended a passage where she seems to suggest Commander should be shot. She also defended her decision to remove a part of the book where she falsely claimed she met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan confronted the South Dakota governor about a previously unreported passage of her upcoming book — No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong...
Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan confronted the South Dakota governor about a previously unreported passage of her upcoming book — No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong...
- 5/5/2024
- by Peter Wade
- Rollingstone.com
Saturday Night Live host and musical guest Dua Lipa, whose brand new album, Radical Optimism, was released Friday, was at a loss for how South Dakota’s Republican governor, Kristi Noem, could salvage her reputation as a puppy and goat killer.
In her monologue, Lipa explained that the title of her latest work means “looking on the bright side of any situation.”
She then took took questions from SNL cast members in the audience, beginning with Andrew Dismukes, who revealed, “My wife left me because during sex, I accidentally called her ‘mom.
In her monologue, Lipa explained that the title of her latest work means “looking on the bright side of any situation.”
She then took took questions from SNL cast members in the audience, beginning with Andrew Dismukes, who revealed, “My wife left me because during sex, I accidentally called her ‘mom.
- 5/5/2024
- by William Vaillancourt
- Rollingstone.com
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R) upcoming memoir, No Going Back, has generated considerable controversy before its release on May 7.
Alongside the public outcry at Noem’s written recollection of when she euthanized her dog, questions have been raised about Noem’s claim to have met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un while she served in Congress on the House Armed Services Committee.
In her book, Noem wrote, “Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee, I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.”
As the independent newspaper The Dakota Scout reports, congressional travel documents and reliable external sources do not provide proof of these claims.
Noem continued in her book, “I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants. Dealing with foreign leaders takes resolve,...
Alongside the public outcry at Noem’s written recollection of when she euthanized her dog, questions have been raised about Noem’s claim to have met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un while she served in Congress on the House Armed Services Committee.
In her book, Noem wrote, “Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee, I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.”
As the independent newspaper The Dakota Scout reports, congressional travel documents and reliable external sources do not provide proof of these claims.
Noem continued in her book, “I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants. Dealing with foreign leaders takes resolve,...
- 5/3/2024
- by Baila Eve Zisman
- Uinterview
Kristi Noem has repeatedly affirmed that yes, she actually did murder her 14-month-old dog — but that doesn’t mean the South Dakota governor’s upcoming memoir, No Going Back, isn’t full of easily disprovable lies.
According to The Dakota Scout, which obtained a copy of the book, Noem claims that as a member of Congress, she met with elusive North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
“Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders,” Noem wrote.
According to The Dakota Scout, which obtained a copy of the book, Noem claims that as a member of Congress, she met with elusive North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
“Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders,” Noem wrote.
- 5/3/2024
- by Nikki McCann Ramirez
- Rollingstone.com
The second episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show was about Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Indian cricket team, who left no stone unturned in making fun of himself and his team. He was joined by his electrifying teammate, one of the best batsmen in the country, Shreyas Iyer. They spent a lot of time taking potshots at their teammates and themselves, which was the only highlight of the show. The rest of the gags were forgettable and repetitive.
The brand-new episode of the show features the cast and crew of the new Netflix India original film Amar Singh Chamkila. The movie has been in the making for a while now and was released on April 12, 2024, with a stupendous response from critics and viewers. The new episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show not only celebrates the film but also the legendary Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila and his wife Amarjot Kaur,...
The brand-new episode of the show features the cast and crew of the new Netflix India original film Amar Singh Chamkila. The movie has been in the making for a while now and was released on April 12, 2024, with a stupendous response from critics and viewers. The new episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show not only celebrates the film but also the legendary Punjabi singer Amar Singh Chamkila and his wife Amarjot Kaur,...
- 4/14/2024
- by Smriti Kannan
- Film Fugitives
Saturday Night Live wasted no time getting to the good stuff this week: another alien abduction sketch, with host Ryan Gosling joined by (and trying hard not to laugh at) former cast member Kate McKinnon.
In the cold open, Gosling returned as alien abductee Todd, with McKinnon reprising her role as the chain-smoking Miss Rafferty, who always has a much less pleasant encounter with the extraterrestrials. (The sketch debuted in 2015 with Gosling as host and returned for his 2017 stint as well.) This time, Todd and Miss Rafferty were joined by Sarah Sherman’s other abductee… and Todd wants to clarify...
In the cold open, Gosling returned as alien abductee Todd, with McKinnon reprising her role as the chain-smoking Miss Rafferty, who always has a much less pleasant encounter with the extraterrestrials. (The sketch debuted in 2015 with Gosling as host and returned for his 2017 stint as well.) This time, Todd and Miss Rafferty were joined by Sarah Sherman’s other abductee… and Todd wants to clarify...
- 4/14/2024
- by Dave Nemetz
- TVLine.com
Donald Trump‘s national security adviser, John Bolton, said that the former president wants Americans to treat him like North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
Bolton shared in the X post a 2018 video of Trump talking to the Fox News host Steve Doocy days after his Singapore summit meeting with Kim.
“Are we close to seeing Mr. Kim here at the White House,” Doocy asked in the recording.
“It could happen,” Trump replied.
Trump then went on to compliment the North Korean supreme leader.
“He’s the head of a country,” Trump stated in the clip. “And I mean, he is the strong head. Don’t let anyone think anything different.
“He speaks, and his people sit up at attention,” he claimed. “I want my people to do the same.”
“Donald Trump wants Americans to treat him like North Koreans treat Kim [Jong] Un,” the former United States U.N. ambassador...
Bolton shared in the X post a 2018 video of Trump talking to the Fox News host Steve Doocy days after his Singapore summit meeting with Kim.
“Are we close to seeing Mr. Kim here at the White House,” Doocy asked in the recording.
“It could happen,” Trump replied.
Trump then went on to compliment the North Korean supreme leader.
“He’s the head of a country,” Trump stated in the clip. “And I mean, he is the strong head. Don’t let anyone think anything different.
“He speaks, and his people sit up at attention,” he claimed. “I want my people to do the same.”
“Donald Trump wants Americans to treat him like North Koreans treat Kim [Jong] Un,” the former United States U.N. ambassador...
- 4/4/2024
- by Alessio Atria
- Uinterview
Politics is full of colorful characters, but former President Donald Trump takes joviality to the next level. He has a habit of doling out expressive nicknames for reporters, critics, and both Democrat and Republican party members. Here are some of Trumps most lively epithets.
Lil Pardner
Donald Trump has a tendency to focus on height—he’s tall and his teen son Barron is even taller than him! Trump has pointed out his son’s amazing height several times and height factors into many of his doled out nicknames.
For example Donald has called Michael Bloomberg “Little Michael and Mini Mike Bloomberg” and he’s referred to Ron “Tiny D” Sanctimonious. He’s also mentioned Marco “Little Marco” Rubio, Ben “Little Ben” Sasse, and Adam “Liddle‘ Adam” Schiff.
At his own risk he’s even referred to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un would as “Little Rocket Man.”
Trump’s One...
Lil Pardner
Donald Trump has a tendency to focus on height—he’s tall and his teen son Barron is even taller than him! Trump has pointed out his son’s amazing height several times and height factors into many of his doled out nicknames.
For example Donald has called Michael Bloomberg “Little Michael and Mini Mike Bloomberg” and he’s referred to Ron “Tiny D” Sanctimonious. He’s also mentioned Marco “Little Marco” Rubio, Ben “Little Ben” Sasse, and Adam “Liddle‘ Adam” Schiff.
At his own risk he’s even referred to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un would as “Little Rocket Man.”
Trump’s One...
- 3/21/2024
- by Tanya Clark
- Celebrating The Soaps
The inaugural Hong Kong International Film Festival Industry – CAA China Genre Initiative (Hcg) has set its first projects which will be showcased during the 28th Hong Kong International Film & TV Market alongside the 22nd Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum running from March 11-13.
As part of the program designed to foster Chinese-language genre projects, CAA China will award $20,000 each to two projects to support their development, with customized guidance from mentors. CAA China may board the winning projects later by entering into script development agreements.
Below are details on the six projects selected:
Call of Lobster (comedy/drama), director: Yin Chen-Hao
Yung-Fu, a dedicated lobster farmer, has always held onto the belief that he would eventually succeed. One day, a news story catches his eye: A North Korean official has been executed for failing to farm lobsters for Kim Jong-Un. Yung-Fu knows his time has come — seeing this as...
As part of the program designed to foster Chinese-language genre projects, CAA China will award $20,000 each to two projects to support their development, with customized guidance from mentors. CAA China may board the winning projects later by entering into script development agreements.
Below are details on the six projects selected:
Call of Lobster (comedy/drama), director: Yin Chen-Hao
Yung-Fu, a dedicated lobster farmer, has always held onto the belief that he would eventually succeed. One day, a news story catches his eye: A North Korean official has been executed for failing to farm lobsters for Kim Jong-Un. Yung-Fu knows his time has come — seeing this as...
- 1/25/2024
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed a bill into law that would eliminate a major child labor protection law in the state.
The bill, which was signed by Sanders in early March 2023, eliminates a measure that required employers to procure work certificates for children who are below the age of 16.
“The governor believes protecting kids is most important, but this permit was an arbitrary burden on parents to get permission from the government for their child to get a job,” Sanders’ spokesperson Alexa Henning declared in a statement. “All child labor laws that actually protect children still apply and we expect businesses to comply just as they are required to do now.”
Minors under the age of 16 originally needed to verify their age and get their parents’ or guardians’ written consent before the state’s Division of Labor sent out a work certificate.
House Bill 1410, known as the Youth...
The bill, which was signed by Sanders in early March 2023, eliminates a measure that required employers to procure work certificates for children who are below the age of 16.
“The governor believes protecting kids is most important, but this permit was an arbitrary burden on parents to get permission from the government for their child to get a job,” Sanders’ spokesperson Alexa Henning declared in a statement. “All child labor laws that actually protect children still apply and we expect businesses to comply just as they are required to do now.”
Minors under the age of 16 originally needed to verify their age and get their parents’ or guardians’ written consent before the state’s Division of Labor sent out a work certificate.
House Bill 1410, known as the Youth...
- 1/18/2024
- by Alessio Atria
- Uinterview
Imagine living in a country where you have to struggle even to get drinking water! You have to pack and submit your feces to your government, thanks to the lack of sewage systems and the fear of punishment! You don’t have any basic human rights, and you aren’t even allowed to leave the country and go somewhere else! So what do you do then? You escape, risking your life, because you would rather die trying to be free than live in the hellhole called North Korea. Madeleine Gavin’s latest documentary, titled Beyond Utopia, deals with this grave subject matter. It talks about every terrible thing the North Korean regime endorses in a never-before-seen, no-holds-barred manner. Unfolding like a pulsating thriller from the get-go, Beyond Utopia centers on Pastor Kim and documents his attempt to help out two North Korean families fleeing the country. It’s a fascinating watch from start to finish,...
- 1/9/2024
- by Rohitavra Majumdar
- Film Fugitives
By one measure, 2023 was a very tough year in documentary. The first indications of what lay ahead came in January at Sundance, where the usual panoply of films entered the arena in hopes of earning awards and the ultimate prize – distribution.
But streamers and other major distributors showed no inclination to loosen their purse strings and many acclaimed Sundance titles languished for months without distribution deals – King Coal, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, The Disappearance of Shere Hite among them. Bad Press never did get a distribution deal. Netflix, after spending handsomely at Sundance in recent years, didn’t buy any docs at the festival (it did acquire American Symphony at Telluride).
As the year advanced, the acquisition pace remained sluggish and smaller distributors found themselves in a buyer’s market, landing films that in previous years would have gone to bigger entities. On the continuum of feast and famine,...
But streamers and other major distributors showed no inclination to loosen their purse strings and many acclaimed Sundance titles languished for months without distribution deals – King Coal, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, The Disappearance of Shere Hite among them. Bad Press never did get a distribution deal. Netflix, after spending handsomely at Sundance in recent years, didn’t buy any docs at the festival (it did acquire American Symphony at Telluride).
As the year advanced, the acquisition pace remained sluggish and smaller distributors found themselves in a buyer’s market, landing films that in previous years would have gone to bigger entities. On the continuum of feast and famine,...
- 1/1/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
In his latest attempt to depict President Joe Biden as an authoritarian, Donald Trump turned to the words of Vladimir Putin at a rally in Durham, New Hampshire.
At the rally, Trump quoted Putin, “Even Vladimir Putin … says that Biden’s, and this is a quote, politically motivated persecution of his political rival is very good for Russia because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others about democracy.”
Trump also took pride in the praise he received from Viktor Orbán, the authoritarian prime minister of Hungary, who referred to Trump as the savior of the Western world.
Trump further mentioned his amicable relationship with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator, and stated that Kim has a favorable view of him despite his disapproval of the current administration.
Throughout his tenure as president, Trump demonstrated a fondness for authoritarian leaders like Putin and Kim,...
At the rally, Trump quoted Putin, “Even Vladimir Putin … says that Biden’s, and this is a quote, politically motivated persecution of his political rival is very good for Russia because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others about democracy.”
Trump also took pride in the praise he received from Viktor Orbán, the authoritarian prime minister of Hungary, who referred to Trump as the savior of the Western world.
Trump further mentioned his amicable relationship with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator, and stated that Kim has a favorable view of him despite his disapproval of the current administration.
Throughout his tenure as president, Trump demonstrated a fondness for authoritarian leaders like Putin and Kim,...
- 12/24/2023
- by Baila Eve Zisman
- Uinterview
It’s no secret that Donald Trump has long promised a widespread immigration crackdown should he retake the White House in 2024. Still, in recent weeks the former president’s rhetoric on immigration has reached an authoritarian fever pitch. On Friday, Trump justified his desire for mass deportations by claiming that American schools “are loaded up with people that don’t speak a word of English.”
During an appearance on the Eric Bolling Podcast, Trump ranted at length about the influx of migrants entering the United States through the southern border,...
During an appearance on the Eric Bolling Podcast, Trump ranted at length about the influx of migrants entering the United States through the southern border,...
- 12/19/2023
- by Nikki McCann Ramirez
- Rollingstone.com
Donald Trump continued his weekend stump, following-up his appearance in Durham, New Hampshire, on Saturday with another Commit to Caucus rally in Reno, Nevada, at Reno-Sparks Convention on Sunday. The Nevada Republican Party will be hosting a caucus on Feb. 8, which the former president referenced several times during his speech, asking everyone in attendance to make sure they turn out and bring their friends.
While his speeches have become rote to anyone watching (a recitation of the song “The Snake,” a metaphor for his anti-immigration policies; comparing his indictments to...
While his speeches have become rote to anyone watching (a recitation of the song “The Snake,” a metaphor for his anti-immigration policies; comparing his indictments to...
- 12/18/2023
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
Donald Trump spoke at Whittemore Center Arena on the campus of University of New Hampshire in Durham on Saturday. He slammed his opponents, taking swipes at Republican presidential primary nominees Nikki Haley and Chris Christie — whom Trump, not a poster child of fitness himself, called “a fat pig.” But Trump reserved most of his ire for President Joe Biden, who beat him four years ago in an election Trump refuses to accept was legitimate.
The former president also echoed the words of Adolf Hitler during his anti-immigrant ranting at the rally.
The former president also echoed the words of Adolf Hitler during his anti-immigrant ranting at the rally.
- 12/16/2023
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
Madeleine Gavin’s Sundance award-winning documentary “Beyond Utopia” will kick off the winter season of PBS documentary series “Independent Lens” on Jan. 9.
Using hidden camera footage, the 115-minute doc follows the high-stakes journey that a handful of desperate families make in order to defect from North Korea — a country with the most brutal regime on earth, led by a dictator, Kim Jong-un. The doc, which was acquired by Roadside Attractions in August, is vying for Academy Award attention.
“Beyond Utopia” is one of six feature docus that make up the program’s winter slate, which begins in January and concludes on Mach 25. Notably, all six films were directed by women and filmmakers of color.
The selected titles cover a wide range of timely issues including racial tensions, gentrification, mental health, representation, and humanity through the lens of individuals, families, and tight-knit communities,
“At a time of tremendous upheaval around the world,...
Using hidden camera footage, the 115-minute doc follows the high-stakes journey that a handful of desperate families make in order to defect from North Korea — a country with the most brutal regime on earth, led by a dictator, Kim Jong-un. The doc, which was acquired by Roadside Attractions in August, is vying for Academy Award attention.
“Beyond Utopia” is one of six feature docus that make up the program’s winter slate, which begins in January and concludes on Mach 25. Notably, all six films were directed by women and filmmakers of color.
The selected titles cover a wide range of timely issues including racial tensions, gentrification, mental health, representation, and humanity through the lens of individuals, families, and tight-knit communities,
“At a time of tremendous upheaval around the world,...
- 12/5/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Rapper Azealia Banks Praises Donald Trump, Disses Ron DeSantis & Says Free Speech Is ‘For White Men’
Controversial rapper Azealia Banks made wild comments about cancel culture, Donald Trump and the rise of AI technology.
Banks said that she thinks the rapid growth in technology is making her paranoid, particularly the prevalence of AI.
Banks said the technological advancements convinced her into “absolutely needing a gun,” believing she feels “way safer” since moving to Miami from Los Angeles.
Gun rights are one reason why Banks is supporting Trump’s 2024 run. She also admires the former president’s humor and attitude.
“He’s just f— funny. He’s been through how many bankruptcies? How many wives? How many television shows? Seriously, nothing can take him down,” she told The Evening Standard.
Despite her move to Florida, she did not have kind words for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), mocking his feud with the Disney corporation.
“Seriously, that’s the guy who’s running for president? The guy who wants to argue with Mickey Mouse?...
Banks said that she thinks the rapid growth in technology is making her paranoid, particularly the prevalence of AI.
Banks said the technological advancements convinced her into “absolutely needing a gun,” believing she feels “way safer” since moving to Miami from Los Angeles.
Gun rights are one reason why Banks is supporting Trump’s 2024 run. She also admires the former president’s humor and attitude.
“He’s just f— funny. He’s been through how many bankruptcies? How many wives? How many television shows? Seriously, nothing can take him down,” she told The Evening Standard.
Despite her move to Florida, she did not have kind words for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), mocking his feud with the Disney corporation.
“Seriously, that’s the guy who’s running for president? The guy who wants to argue with Mickey Mouse?...
- 11/22/2023
- by Zach Ament
- Uinterview
North Korea. Your house is on fire. What do you try to rescue first? Your kids? Your pet? No, the first thing you reach for is the portrait of the Dear Leader, Kim Jong-un and his father and grandfather that is hanging on your wall, as mandated by the authoritarian government. Everything else can wait.
Such is the bizarre and grim reality of North Korea that emerges in Beyond Utopia, the award-winning documentary directed by Madeleine Gavin. She obtained remarkable footage surreptitiously recorded in the secretive, isolated state that shows what life is truly like for ordinary people – people told from birth that their leader is a human god who demands and deserves total fealty.
Despite the North Korean regime’s attempts to brainwash the populace into believing they live in an earthly paradise, over a period of years hundreds of thousands of people have risked death to try to escape.
Such is the bizarre and grim reality of North Korea that emerges in Beyond Utopia, the award-winning documentary directed by Madeleine Gavin. She obtained remarkable footage surreptitiously recorded in the secretive, isolated state that shows what life is truly like for ordinary people – people told from birth that their leader is a human god who demands and deserves total fealty.
Despite the North Korean regime’s attempts to brainwash the populace into believing they live in an earthly paradise, over a period of years hundreds of thousands of people have risked death to try to escape.
- 10/31/2023
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
The name Pastor Kim comes up early in Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia. A gentle, aching man, Pastor Kim tells Gavin he has ensured the escape of over 1,000 people from North Korea in the last 10 years. He’s one of the leaders of this Underground Railroad in the area, leading defectors through rivers, mountains, and forests with rods in his neck, rolled ankles, and multiple surgeries plaguing his physical health over the years. Kim becomes the doc’s lynchpin, the character who provides light to the defectors and audience. In short: he’s a hero.
Gavin’s doc looks at the people Kim attempts to help––specifically three generations of a family attempting to flee together and the son of a woman who’s already out. The film intersperses footage taken by the defectors, a few talking heads, animated reimaginings of what happens to defectors, and archival material from North Korea.
Gavin’s doc looks at the people Kim attempts to help––specifically three generations of a family attempting to flee together and the son of a woman who’s already out. The film intersperses footage taken by the defectors, a few talking heads, animated reimaginings of what happens to defectors, and archival material from North Korea.
- 10/31/2023
- by Michael Frank
- The Film Stage
Harrowing stories have been told by those who’ve survived their escape from North Korea, but that struggle emerges with a startling urgency in director Madeleine Gavin’s Beyond Utopia with footage unlike any we’ve seen before. The film uses interviews with defectors and archival footage to provide historical context about the stringent control that North Korea’s security apparatus has over its citizens and how they’re bombarded and controlled by propaganda. But it’s the hidden camera and cellphone footage taken by defectors themselves that most terrifyingly attests to the horrors committed by the kleptocratic dynastic regime.
The on-the-grounds footage focuses primarily on Hyukchang Wu and his family, who at the start of the film are hiding along the border between China and North Korea. We witness their first contact with Seungeun Kim, a well-known pastor who, with minimal resources, has managed to help numerous people escape from North Korea.
The on-the-grounds footage focuses primarily on Hyukchang Wu and his family, who at the start of the film are hiding along the border between China and North Korea. We witness their first contact with Seungeun Kim, a well-known pastor who, with minimal resources, has managed to help numerous people escape from North Korea.
- 10/30/2023
- by Derek Smith
- Slant Magazine
Tense documentary follows the perilous ‘underground railroads’ defectors need to take to escape from the totalitarian state
The toxic anti-Shangri-La of North Korea continues to provide a rich seam of material for film-makers: the late Claude Lanzmann recounted his personal experiences there in the 1950s in Napalm and Werner Herzog discussed the North Korean reverence for Mount Paektu in Into the Inferno. There are many more, including Álvaro Longaria’s The Propaganda Game, Ross Adam and Robert Cannan’s The Lovers and the Despot, Morten Traavik’s Liberation Day and Ryan White’s Assassins. So far no documentary film-maker to my knowledge has tackled one of North Korea’s strangest events: Kim Jong-un’s summit meeting in 2018 with Donald Trump, the man who’d threatened him with “fire and fury”. Oddly, this otherwise excellent documentary about North Korea doesn’t mention that, despite it coming within its timeline.
Beyond Utopia...
The toxic anti-Shangri-La of North Korea continues to provide a rich seam of material for film-makers: the late Claude Lanzmann recounted his personal experiences there in the 1950s in Napalm and Werner Herzog discussed the North Korean reverence for Mount Paektu in Into the Inferno. There are many more, including Álvaro Longaria’s The Propaganda Game, Ross Adam and Robert Cannan’s The Lovers and the Despot, Morten Traavik’s Liberation Day and Ryan White’s Assassins. So far no documentary film-maker to my knowledge has tackled one of North Korea’s strangest events: Kim Jong-un’s summit meeting in 2018 with Donald Trump, the man who’d threatened him with “fire and fury”. Oddly, this otherwise excellent documentary about North Korea doesn’t mention that, despite it coming within its timeline.
Beyond Utopia...
- 10/26/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Using footage shot by escapees, Beyond Utopia is a gripping film about the man of God on a mission to liberate North Koreans, end brainwashing – and topple Kim Jong-un’s totalitarian regime
As Kim Jong-un’s recent 12,400-mile round trip to Moscow on a 35mph train demonstrated, the art of leaving North Korea can be an intricate business, requiring in his case bulletproof windows, an onboard helicopter and lobsters by the plateful.
By contrast Kim Seongeun, also known as Pastor Kim, oversees a different kind of departure from North Korea: highly dangerous, unsanctioned, clandestine escapes from Kim Jong-un’s totalitarian and often insane-seeming regime. Based in Seoul and founder of the Caleb Mission, Pastor Kim has been in the escape business since 2000. His exploits are now the subject of Beyond Utopia, a gripping film that won the Audience award for US documentary at this year’s Sundance festival.
Continue reading.
As Kim Jong-un’s recent 12,400-mile round trip to Moscow on a 35mph train demonstrated, the art of leaving North Korea can be an intricate business, requiring in his case bulletproof windows, an onboard helicopter and lobsters by the plateful.
By contrast Kim Seongeun, also known as Pastor Kim, oversees a different kind of departure from North Korea: highly dangerous, unsanctioned, clandestine escapes from Kim Jong-un’s totalitarian and often insane-seeming regime. Based in Seoul and founder of the Caleb Mission, Pastor Kim has been in the escape business since 2000. His exploits are now the subject of Beyond Utopia, a gripping film that won the Audience award for US documentary at this year’s Sundance festival.
Continue reading.
- 10/23/2023
- by Patrick Wintour
- The Guardian - Film News
Videos of Vladimir Putin showed him twisting his foot, causing more rumors about the Russian president’s health to resurface.
Putin attended a summit at the Vostochny spaceport recently, where he was joined by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Videos from the event captured Putin’s involuntary leg movements, which have been a topic of conversation before.
Putin can be seen lifting and twisting his left foot from side to side. The fidgeting continued during the photo-op.
This is not the first time people have noticed Putin’s apparent health issues, as he was caught moving in the same ways last February and September. He has also been known to grip tables for support.
Speculation that Putin suffers from Parkinson’s disease have been ongoing for a few years.
Leaked U.S. military cables said that Putin is believed to be suffering from cancer.
The post Questions...
Putin attended a summit at the Vostochny spaceport recently, where he was joined by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Videos from the event captured Putin’s involuntary leg movements, which have been a topic of conversation before.
Putin can be seen lifting and twisting his left foot from side to side. The fidgeting continued during the photo-op.
This is not the first time people have noticed Putin’s apparent health issues, as he was caught moving in the same ways last February and September. He has also been known to grip tables for support.
Speculation that Putin suffers from Parkinson’s disease have been ongoing for a few years.
Leaked U.S. military cables said that Putin is believed to be suffering from cancer.
The post Questions...
- 10/22/2023
- by Ava Lombardi
- Uinterview
Madeleine Gavin’s Sundance award-winning documentary “Beyond Utopia” has garnered the best documentary and best doc editing honors at the 24th annual Woodstock Film Festival.
The documentary, which was recently acquired by Roadside Attractions, is vying for Academy Award attention.
Using hidden camera footage, the doc follows the high-stakes journey that a handful of desperate families make in order to defect from North Korea — a country with the most brutal regime on earth, led by a dictator, Kim Jong-un.
Doc jurors included directors Barbara Kopple (“Harlan County USA”) Richard Rowley (“ Kingdom of Silence”) and Heidi Ewing (“Jesus Camp”).
“This year’s winner is an astonishingly intimate, white-knuckle thriller following families trying to escape North Korea,” the jurors said in a joint statement. “Stitched together from raw, first person footage, it is impossible not to feel the heart-breaking courage as a family clings to each other during a nighttime crossing of the Mekong River.
The documentary, which was recently acquired by Roadside Attractions, is vying for Academy Award attention.
Using hidden camera footage, the doc follows the high-stakes journey that a handful of desperate families make in order to defect from North Korea — a country with the most brutal regime on earth, led by a dictator, Kim Jong-un.
Doc jurors included directors Barbara Kopple (“Harlan County USA”) Richard Rowley (“ Kingdom of Silence”) and Heidi Ewing (“Jesus Camp”).
“This year’s winner is an astonishingly intimate, white-knuckle thriller following families trying to escape North Korea,” the jurors said in a joint statement. “Stitched together from raw, first person footage, it is impossible not to feel the heart-breaking courage as a family clings to each other during a nighttime crossing of the Mekong River.
- 10/1/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Forrest Gump famously said, “Stupid is as stupid does.” Forrest Gump clearly never spent a Wednesday night tuning into a much-hyped interview between livestreamer Adin Ross and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, which was crashed by masculinity influencer and accused sex trafficker Andrew Tate.
More than 330,000 people tuned into the livestream on Kick Wednesday night, according to streaming data, which featured not the dictator himself, but a Hong Kong native in a pinstriped suit that looked like it had been pulled from a Sheboygan dinner theater production of Guys and Dolls.
More than 330,000 people tuned into the livestream on Kick Wednesday night, according to streaming data, which featured not the dictator himself, but a Hong Kong native in a pinstriped suit that looked like it had been pulled from a Sheboygan dinner theater production of Guys and Dolls.
- 9/21/2023
- by Ej Dickson
- Rollingstone.com
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un promised his “full and unconditional” support to Russia’s Vladimir Putin during a Wednesday summit between the two nations.
The meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, one of the largest spaceports in Russia, reportedly centered around a discussion of military cooperation between the two nations. Putin is currently in need of arms assistance in his war against Ukraine, while Kim has been seeking technology that would aid North Korea in launching spy satellites for some time now.
North Korea is one of the few remaining...
The meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, one of the largest spaceports in Russia, reportedly centered around a discussion of military cooperation between the two nations. Putin is currently in need of arms assistance in his war against Ukraine, while Kim has been seeking technology that would aid North Korea in launching spy satellites for some time now.
North Korea is one of the few remaining...
- 9/13/2023
- by Nikki McCann Ramirez
- Rollingstone.com
Former president Donald Trump made his first public appearance at a rally on Friday since he was criminally indicted over charges to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election.
Appearing at a GOP event in South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem endorsed Trump, and established herself as a surrogate to his run for presidency. The gathering saw the ex-president hawk his usual unfounded claims on abortion and immigration, praise North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, and denounce the 91 felony charges against him.
Trump — who has lied about his golf scores, his weight, the...
Appearing at a GOP event in South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem endorsed Trump, and established herself as a surrogate to his run for presidency. The gathering saw the ex-president hawk his usual unfounded claims on abortion and immigration, praise North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, and denounce the 91 felony charges against him.
Trump — who has lied about his golf scores, his weight, the...
- 9/9/2023
- by Charisma Madarang
- Rollingstone.com
Bill Maher did not hold back about his thoughts on a Trump vs. Biden matchup for 2024 on Joe Rogan’s podcast The Joe Rogan Experience over the weekend.
Rogan told Maher Saturday that he believes Biden appears frail, that he’s “skeletal thin”, to which Maher essentially agreed that Trump looks “more hearty and robust. He’s a city roach. The worse things he eats the stronger he gets. You cannot kill him,” Maher said.
“He’s also the only [president] who didn’t noticeably age,” Rogan interjected.
“No, we did,” Maher responded. “But he’s a criminal and he’s crazy and he’s stupid. And crazy and stupid are two different things … Stupid is ‘Frederick Douglass is alive’ or ‘the stealth bomber is literally invisible’ or “Nobody is health care is hard to solve. Crazy is ‘it’s important that the crowd at my inauguration was the biggest ever,...
Rogan told Maher Saturday that he believes Biden appears frail, that he’s “skeletal thin”, to which Maher essentially agreed that Trump looks “more hearty and robust. He’s a city roach. The worse things he eats the stronger he gets. You cannot kill him,” Maher said.
“He’s also the only [president] who didn’t noticeably age,” Rogan interjected.
“No, we did,” Maher responded. “But he’s a criminal and he’s crazy and he’s stupid. And crazy and stupid are two different things … Stupid is ‘Frederick Douglass is alive’ or ‘the stealth bomber is literally invisible’ or “Nobody is health care is hard to solve. Crazy is ‘it’s important that the crowd at my inauguration was the biggest ever,...
- 9/4/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Fathom Events and Roadside Attractions are teaming up to release Madeleine Gavin’s Sundance award-winning documentary “Beyond Utopia.”
The film takes viewers on a harrowing journey as one family risks everything to escape from North Korea. The pact comes after the film made its world premiere in the U.S. documentary competition section at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it won the doc audience award.
While the film attracted plenty of interest from distribution companies following its debut in Park City, the market slowdown has led to deals taking longer than usual to nail down.
Roadside acquired domestic rights to “Beyond Utopia” and will release the film theatrically in select markets later this fall, thereby qualifying the docu for Oscar consideration. Fathom Events will release the film in more than 600 theaters nationwide during a special two-night only event on Oct. 23-24.
Using hidden camera footage, Gavin tells the...
The film takes viewers on a harrowing journey as one family risks everything to escape from North Korea. The pact comes after the film made its world premiere in the U.S. documentary competition section at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it won the doc audience award.
While the film attracted plenty of interest from distribution companies following its debut in Park City, the market slowdown has led to deals taking longer than usual to nail down.
Roadside acquired domestic rights to “Beyond Utopia” and will release the film theatrically in select markets later this fall, thereby qualifying the docu for Oscar consideration. Fathom Events will release the film in more than 600 theaters nationwide during a special two-night only event on Oct. 23-24.
Using hidden camera footage, Gavin tells the...
- 8/28/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Randall Park has been many things: versatile sitcom star, writer of a hit movie, Marvel utility player and the guy who spoofed Kim Jong Un in that thing that almost broke Hollywood. With Shortcomings, however, he may take his biggest stride towards reaching his full potential by adding feature director to his long resume.
It’s easy to assume that Park’s foray might be based on a script of his own, but the film borrows its name, narrative and screenwriter from the cult comic by Adrian Tomine. Like the graphic novel, the comedy follows Ben (Justin H. Min) — a young man experiencing a kind of protracted failure to launch while the women in his life (Sherry Cola and Ally Maki) actively make choices that guide them closer to fulfillment. After a promising launch at Sundance earlier in 2024, it’s currently enjoying a limited release via Sony Pictures Classics. Park...
It’s easy to assume that Park’s foray might be based on a script of his own, but the film borrows its name, narrative and screenwriter from the cult comic by Adrian Tomine. Like the graphic novel, the comedy follows Ben (Justin H. Min) — a young man experiencing a kind of protracted failure to launch while the women in his life (Sherry Cola and Ally Maki) actively make choices that guide them closer to fulfillment. After a promising launch at Sundance earlier in 2024, it’s currently enjoying a limited release via Sony Pictures Classics. Park...
- 8/15/2023
- by Mikey O'Connell
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After directing a few short films over the course of a decade, Kwak Eun-mi makes her feature debut with “A Tour Guide”. A socially charged drama concerned with North Korean ex-pats, Kwak's film paints a desperate picture of defectors struggling to secure a prosperous life in a new country.
A Tour Guide is screening at New York Asian Film Festival
Han-young (Seol Lee) has just started as a tour guide working in South Korea. Fluent in Korean and Chinese, she guides tourists around famous landmarks, hoping to quickly impress and earn as much money as possible. However, as a North Korean defector, Han-young is constantly subject to scrutiny, whether it be from colleagues, her boss, or even the police. To make matters worse, her brother, who migrated with her, is nowhere to be found. Feeling alone in what is essentially a foreign land, Han-young struggles to make ends meet and provide for her ailing mother,...
A Tour Guide is screening at New York Asian Film Festival
Han-young (Seol Lee) has just started as a tour guide working in South Korea. Fluent in Korean and Chinese, she guides tourists around famous landmarks, hoping to quickly impress and earn as much money as possible. However, as a North Korean defector, Han-young is constantly subject to scrutiny, whether it be from colleagues, her boss, or even the police. To make matters worse, her brother, who migrated with her, is nowhere to be found. Feeling alone in what is essentially a foreign land, Han-young struggles to make ends meet and provide for her ailing mother,...
- 7/26/2023
- by Tom Wilmot
- AsianMoviePulse
Donald Trump has long praised Kim Jong-un, but he spent the first part of his presidency publicly prodding and threatening the murderous North Korean dictator. The tension between the two strongmen was so concerning to top security officials, a new book alleges, that they held multiple meetings to prepare for a North Korean nuclear attack against the United States.
“You all need to prepare like we’re going to war,” former Defense Secretary James Mattis said to former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor, according to Taylor’s new book Blowback:...
“You all need to prepare like we’re going to war,” former Defense Secretary James Mattis said to former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor, according to Taylor’s new book Blowback:...
- 7/10/2023
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
In 1989, Billy Joel released his eleventh album Storm Front which featured his third single that would reach number one on the Billboard Top 100 charts, We Didn’t Start the Fire. We Didn’t Start the Fire was a unique tune in which the lyrics were composed entirely of a laundry list of subjects that dominated news headlines spanning from 1949 to 1989 (which was also Billy Joel’s lifetime at that point). The pop culture hit would address topics such as Beatlemania, the Berlin wall, the Ayatollah, Ho Chi Minh, Catcher in the Rye, The King and I, the crack epidemic and much more.
The song would spawn parodies for use in movies and TV, but there hasn’t been a genuine updated cover until now. The band Fall Out Boy has just released their version with headlines from the last thirty years filling out the lyrics. This single will reportedly be...
The song would spawn parodies for use in movies and TV, but there hasn’t been a genuine updated cover until now. The band Fall Out Boy has just released their version with headlines from the last thirty years filling out the lyrics. This single will reportedly be...
- 6/29/2023
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
It’s a case of “deja news” for MSNBC host Rachel Maddow after former president Trump congratulated North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un on Friday for the addition of North Korea to the executive board of the World Health Organization. On Monday night, Maddow couldn’t help but laugh at history repeating itself.
That history, as she reminded her viewers, is “the Do Not Congratulate saga” of 2018. The short version of that is, in 2018, The Washington Post reported that Trump’s then-team had to write the words “do not congratulate” in all caps across his briefings about the election of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“They were not real elections. It was therefore important that the President of the United States shouldn’t endorse the purported outcome of these elections, as if they were real,” Maddow explained.
Also Read:
Rachel Maddow Mocks Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ ‘Bold Leadership’ in Arkansas: ‘Haven’t...
That history, as she reminded her viewers, is “the Do Not Congratulate saga” of 2018. The short version of that is, in 2018, The Washington Post reported that Trump’s then-team had to write the words “do not congratulate” in all caps across his briefings about the election of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“They were not real elections. It was therefore important that the President of the United States shouldn’t endorse the purported outcome of these elections, as if they were real,” Maddow explained.
Also Read:
Rachel Maddow Mocks Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ ‘Bold Leadership’ in Arkansas: ‘Haven’t...
- 6/6/2023
- by Andi Ortiz
- The Wrap
Seoul, June 1 (Ians) The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed that Pyongyang will “correctly” place a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit soon, state media reported on Thursday, a day after North Korea’s attempt to launch a spy satellite failed.
Kim Yo Jong made the remarks as she slammed the US for its denouncement of North Korea’s botched launch on Wednesday of what it claimed to be a “space launch vehicle,” according to a statement carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (Kcna).
“If North Korea’s satellite launch should be particularly censured, the US and all other countries, which have already launched thousands of satellites, should be denounced,” she said.
“It is certain that the North Korea’s military reconnaissance satellite will be correctly put in space orbit in the near future and start its mission.”
“We confirmed once again...
Kim Yo Jong made the remarks as she slammed the US for its denouncement of North Korea’s botched launch on Wednesday of what it claimed to be a “space launch vehicle,” according to a statement carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (Kcna).
“If North Korea’s satellite launch should be particularly censured, the US and all other countries, which have already launched thousands of satellites, should be denounced,” she said.
“It is certain that the North Korea’s military reconnaissance satellite will be correctly put in space orbit in the near future and start its mission.”
“We confirmed once again...
- 6/1/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ much-hyped campaign launch was a shitshow, largely due to technical issues from Elon Musk’s Twitter Spaces. Donald Trump seemed to relish his opponent’s disastrous 2024 rollout, taking to Truth Social to mock the Florida governor while posting a pair of new attack ads. “Wow! The DeSanctus Twitter launch is a Disaster!,” the former president wrote. “His whole campaign will be a disaster. Watch!”
Trump also trolled DeSantis by congratulating Tim Scott for having “by far the best Presidential launch of the week,” while calling DeSantis’ a “catastrophe,...
Trump also trolled DeSantis by congratulating Tim Scott for having “by far the best Presidential launch of the week,” while calling DeSantis’ a “catastrophe,...
- 5/24/2023
- by Nikki McCann Ramirez
- Rollingstone.com
As Vice Media, the brash company that once had ambitions of replacing legacy news giants, files for bankruptcy protection, with $834 million in debt obligations, its finances are coming into focus.
While its largest creditors include Fortress Investment Group (with a $474.6 million claim), there’s several media companies that are listed as top unsecured creditors that aren’t insiders, as outlined in its filing in the United States Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of New York on Monday. The filing estimates there are more than 5,000 creditors. Given that Vice lists $350 million in assets, many creditors are likely to take a loss during Chapter 11 proceedings.
Among them, CNN Productions is listed as having a $3,798,333 claim, HBO is listed as having a claim of $1,763,157 while A&e Networks is listed as having a claim of $937,500, per the filing. Tech firm Wipro, Amazon Web Services, ad agency Horizon Media, Greek media giant Antenna TV...
While its largest creditors include Fortress Investment Group (with a $474.6 million claim), there’s several media companies that are listed as top unsecured creditors that aren’t insiders, as outlined in its filing in the United States Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of New York on Monday. The filing estimates there are more than 5,000 creditors. Given that Vice lists $350 million in assets, many creditors are likely to take a loss during Chapter 11 proceedings.
Among them, CNN Productions is listed as having a $3,798,333 claim, HBO is listed as having a claim of $1,763,157 while A&e Networks is listed as having a claim of $937,500, per the filing. Tech firm Wipro, Amazon Web Services, ad agency Horizon Media, Greek media giant Antenna TV...
- 5/15/2023
- by Erik Hayden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Seoul, May 6 (Ians) Recent commercial satellite imagery indicates new construction is taking place at North Korea’s major rocket launching site in a move likely aimed at modernising the facility, according to a recent report from a US think-tank.
A coastal area previously used for agricultural purposes near the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in the country’s northwestern province of North Pyongan appears to be undergoing construction based on the satellite imagery taken on Sunday, according to the 38 North report released on Friday (US time).
The rocket launching facility in Tongchang-ri is the site where North Korea conducted tests for its major weapons systems, including a high-thrust solid-fuel rocket engine last December.
The report said agricultural buildings at the site were demolished about two to three weeks earlier, with new construction starting sometime between April 19 and 30.
“It is unclear what this new construction will amount to but it is likely...
A coastal area previously used for agricultural purposes near the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in the country’s northwestern province of North Pyongan appears to be undergoing construction based on the satellite imagery taken on Sunday, according to the 38 North report released on Friday (US time).
The rocket launching facility in Tongchang-ri is the site where North Korea conducted tests for its major weapons systems, including a high-thrust solid-fuel rocket engine last December.
The report said agricultural buildings at the site were demolished about two to three weeks earlier, with new construction starting sometime between April 19 and 30.
“It is unclear what this new construction will amount to but it is likely...
- 5/6/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
In his first public interview since being arraigned on federal charges of falsification of business records, Donald Trump sat down with Tucker Carlson for an interview where the Fox host was more set prop than one of the biggest names in cable news.
None of the bravado Carlson displayed when texting coworkers that he hated Trump “passionately” and believed he was a “demonic force” was present in the interview aired Tuesday. The Fox host deferred to the former president at every turn and simply folded as Trump hijacked the post-arraignment...
None of the bravado Carlson displayed when texting coworkers that he hated Trump “passionately” and believed he was a “demonic force” was present in the interview aired Tuesday. The Fox host deferred to the former president at every turn and simply folded as Trump hijacked the post-arraignment...
- 4/12/2023
- by Nikki McCann Ramirez
- Rollingstone.com
Former President Donald Trump boasted his relationships with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un on the third and final installment of Sean Hannity’s Fox News interview. During the segment, Hannity spouted off a list of names as Trump offered his knee-jerk reaction to each one. To kick things off, the host started with Putin.
“I got along with him great,” said Trump. “Had I been president, he would’ve been much better off because he wouldn’t have gone into Ukraine. But ultimately, he’s gonna take over all of Ukraine.
“I got along with him great,” said Trump. “Had I been president, he would’ve been much better off because he wouldn’t have gone into Ukraine. But ultimately, he’s gonna take over all of Ukraine.
- 3/30/2023
- by Charisma Madarang
- Rollingstone.com
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