Author: Ohart

Diversity in the comic and graphic novel industry in the United States has increased with the growing number of artists who have international backgrounds. VOA’s Dhania Iman reports from San Diego, Calif., on two Asian-American authors who are contributing to the industry’s diversity.
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The typical image of ballerinas is of agile dancers in shiny pink slippers. An American company began offering brown-toned slippers last year, and last month, Britain’s oldest ballet apparel supplier began offering shoes made to better match the skin color of nonwhite dancers. VOA correspondent Mariama Diallo reports.
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In the heart of India’s financial capital Mumbai, lies one of the largest slums in the world – Dharavi. A group of under privileged children from Dharavi is making their bridge to the world outside their slum. By using one of the most common items in their modest homes, the children create beautiful sounds. VOA’s Ritul Joshi reports from Mumbai.
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Ugandan pop star and opposition politician Bobi Wine performed his first concert since he was charged with treason and jailed, a show of defiance Saturday punctuated by anti-government slogans and barbs aimed at the long-time president he is challenging.

Thousands of Ugandans attended the lakeside event held outside the capital, Kampala, many of them clad in red outfits symbolizing their allegiance to the “People Power” movement led by Wine, a rookie legislator whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu.

Ssentamu staged the show at his private beach after he was denied permission to hold the concert at the national stadium.

“Blocked three times by the state but on the (fourth) attempt there is a mammoth turnout,” his attorney Nicholas Opiyo said on Twitter.

The opening acts also played music protesting the government before Wine, putting on his trademark red beret, came onstage and electrified the crowd.

With a heavy deployment of security forces near the show venue, Wine thanked the police officers and men wearing military fatigues for their “unusual” services. Then he started singing the songs that made him a celebrity in Uganda long before he became a politician, with a loyal following among young people disenchanted by joblessness and rampant corruption.

“Tell Bosco,” the revelers sang, “that this Uganda belongs to us.”

Bosco is President Yoweri Museveni’s latest nickname, based on a clumsy character in a popular TV ad.

Ssentamu was arrested and charged with treason in August over an incident in which the president’s convoy was pelted with stones in the aftermath of a political rally. After he was released from detention, Ssentamu sought specialist care in the United States for injuries he said he sustained during alleged torture by state agents.

The government vehemently denies Ssentamu was tortured. He has said the criminal charges against him are false and politically motivated. Court proceedings in the case have not started.

Ssentamu won a seat in the national assembly last year as an independent candidate without the backing of a major political party. He now says he is fighting for freedom from oppression and wants Museveni to retire at the end of his fifth term.

He has refused to say if he will run for president in 2021, even as his supporters urge him to do so.

Museveni has accused opposition figures like Ssentamu of trying to lure young people into rioting.

Ssentamu’s arrest sparked riots by demonstrators demanding his release and a violent response by security forces to stop the protests in Kampala. Dozens of musicians from around the world condemned his treatment and the European Union parliament and some U.S. senators have urged Ugandan authorities to respect basic human rights.

Museveni, a key U.S. ally on regional security, took power by force in 1986. Although he has campaigned on his record of establishing peace and stability, some worry those gains are being eroded the longer he remains in office. 
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Rich or not, famous or not, there was no reprieve Saturday from the California wildfires sweeping through towns as different as the star-filled oceanside enclave of Malibu and the modest communities nearby and in the state’s north.

Lady Gaga, Martin Sheen and Kim Kardashian West were among the celebrities who joined thousands of others in evacuating from the affluent coastal city that is as well-known as its residents. The stars went online to share their own distress and dismay for others as the fate of many properties remained unknown Saturday.

“I am thinking so deeply for everyone who is suffering today from these abominable fires & grieving the loss of their homes or loved ones,” Lady Gaga tweeted. “I’m sitting here with many of you wondering if my home will burst into flames. All we can do is pray together & for each other. God Bless You.”

There were shout-outs as well to the firefighters struggling to contain the fires in what were described as especially difficult conditions.

“These guys are heroes,” filmmaker Guillermo del Toro posted on Twitter. His so-called “Bleak House,” which contains his collection of items too scary to be kept in the family home, was endangered.

Shannen Doherty, who’d been out of town when the fire broke out, said online that friends staying at her Malibu house evacuated safely with her dogs. It’s likely her house burned, she said, but she expressed gratitude to firefighters “putting their lives on the line for all of us” and sympathy for others affected by the fire.

Sheen (“The West Wing,” “Apocalypse Now”), interviewed by a TV station on the beach Friday night after fleeing his home, said the fire was the worst he’s ever seen. He said he expects his house was destroyed.

​The interview occurred after his son, actor Charlie Sheen, tweeted that he’d been unable to contact his father, and the Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV tracked him down. Martin Sheen gave a shoutout to his family to let them know he and his wife, Janet, were safe and planned to sleep in their car by the beach.

The status of Martin Sheen’s home was unknown Saturday morning.

“Beverly Hills, 90210” star Doherty said her “heart is ripped apart” by the loss of a Malibu home where she and husband Kurt Iswarienko were married in 2011, posting on Instagram a wedding-day photo of the smiling couple on a tree-lined path at the property apparently owned by a friend.

She’d previously found refuge in the house when her father died in 2010, Doherty wrote.

“It’s the place I felt my dad with me. It’s gone. Fire has taken it away. I’m devastated by all that’s happening,” she said.

The blaze started Thursday night and by Friday had pushed toward Malibu and the Pacific Ocean, prompting evacuations in Malibu, Calabasas, Agoura Hills and other nearby areas. Authorities said Saturday that two people were found dead in the fire zone and at least 150 homes burned .

In Northern California, the small inland town of Paradise was virtually wiped out by a fast-moving blaze that destroyed more than 6,700 buildings and claimed nine lives as of Saturday.

Although the fatalities overshadowed the loss of property, Malibu’s fame inevitably called attention to the status of its multimillion-dollar homes, including one made famous in ABC’s reality dating series “The Bachelor.”

The show’s producers said in a statement Saturday that, with the area closed to traffic, they didn’t know the condition of what is primarily a private residence. They said their main concern “is with the family who has been displaced, their neighbors, and all the communities impacted by this tragic fire.”

Alyssa Milano, who on Friday tweeted that her house was “in jeopardy” but she had gotten needed help to evacuate her horses and that her children were safe, posted Saturday that she was waiting to hear of her home’s fate.

“There are no words for this kind of devastation. I’m so sorry and my heart is with each of those who are impacted by this awful disaster,” she tweeted Saturday.

Also left waiting was Caitlyn Jenner, whose hilltop home appeared intact when it was shot by a photographer for The Associated Press on Saturday morning. Jenner’s representative noted that the Olympic gold medalist wouldn’t know the extent of any damage to the home until she was allowed to return to it.

Even outside the evacuation zone, the impact of the fire was being felt by others in the entertainment industry.

“The world is literally on fire right now. And unfortunately it’s becoming more and more common here in California,” actress Natalie Portman said Friday night in Hollywood at an American Film Institute Fest premiere of her film “Vox Lux.”

She said she was hoping for the best for friends and everyone else affected by the blaze. She said she’d spoken to her own two children about the fires because “they need to feel safe” and also understand that there are broad regional effects, like poor air quality.

Kardashian West posted video on Instagram of an area on fire with a message “Pray for Calabasas.” She said she landed back home, spent one hour packing and evacuated shortly afterward.

In addition to dozens of homes destroyed, Paramount Ranch’s “Western Town,” a landmark film location that included a jail, hotel and saloon, had burned to the ground.

The ranch served as a location for productions ranging from 1938’s “The Adventures of Marco Polo” to TV shows “The Mentalist” and “Weeds” and current series “Westworld.” The set in the mountains west of Los Angeles dates to 1927 when Paramount Pictures leased the ranch and began making films there.
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It is almost mid-November, and the fall leaves are finally showing off their beautiful colors in the Washington area and elsewhere on the U.S. East Coast. With higher than average temperatures in September and October in Washington, it took longer for the brilliant shades of red, yellow and orange to come out. This year the trees are putting on quite a display, as VOA’s Deborah Block shows us.
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Conversion therapy and social exile for being gay is the subject of two award-winning independent films this season. “The Happy Prince” by Rupert Everett and “Boy Erased” by Joel Edgerton are based on real life stories of gay men treated as pariahs by their communities. VOA’s Penelope Poulou spoke with the filmmakers and authors of the stories about the challenges gays and lesbians continue to face.
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Conversion therapy and social exile for being gay are the subjects of two award-winning independent films this season. The Happy Prince by Rupert Everett and Boy Erased by Joel Edgerton are based on real life stories of gay men treated as pariahs by their communities.

‘The Happy Prince’

In 1897, literary giant Oscar Wilde has fallen from grace for his openly romantic homosexual relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas. After a two-year prison sentence, Wilde emerges, a human wreck, impoverished and ostracized from society.

Rupert Everett, an openly gay director, script writer and actor, directed and scripted the film and interprets Wilde. He says he wanted to show that in 19th century England, no man, not even a recognized figure such as Wilde, was impervious to social rejection for being homosexual.

 

WATCH: ‘The Happy Prince,’ ‘Boy Erased,’ Two films on Gay Exclusion

Everett told VOA that although the film harkens to a different era, it serves as a reminder that despite progress in the West, gays around the world still face discrimination and persecution. He points to the fact that even forward thinking England decriminalized homosexuality as late as 1975 and notes in the epilogue of his film that as late as last year, under what is known as Turing’s Law, England pardoned Wilde for “homosexual crimes.”

“Yes, it’s very shocking and also the fact that they decided to pardon as opposed to apologize because pardon obviously infers to a crime to start with and we agree that homosexuality is not a crime,” Everett said. “It’s a good reminder what can happen even in our countries with the waves of populism that are kind of rolling over us. So, I feel it really is a film for Trump’s America in a way, I hope.”

​‘Boy Erased’

American gay author Garrard Conley, who wrote the memoir-turned-movie Boy Erased about being forced to undergo gay conversion therapy after coming out to his conservative Baptist family in Arkansas, echoes Everett’s warning. He tells VOA that many American communities have a very conservative view of the LGBTQ community.

“This rather insidious idea that was implanted in us from basically birth, which was that to be openly LGBTQ meant that you were either a predator or you were going to be beaten or you were going to end up dying of AIDS. And those were the stories that we were told,” he said.

The only child of a Baptist pastor father and a hairdresser mother, at the age of 19, Conley was sent to a sexual conversion facility in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2004. There, he had to surrender his personal belongings and cut off any communication with friends and family until he abandoned his gay identity. Conley describes the emotional harm he and others endured while attending the program.

Actor and filmmaker Joel Edgerton tells VOA he was captivated by Conley’s memoir and was deeply disturbed by Conley’s loss of freedom because of his sexual identity. He decided to direct the story for the large screen. Actors Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe interpret Conley’s parents, and Lucas Hedges interprets Conley’s character. Edgerton plays Victor Sykes, a conversion therapist, who uses pseudo science, shaming and torture to “treat” his patients.

Edgerton says he made Boy Erased to bring to light the mistreatment and dehumanization young people encounter in these conversion programs. 

“I challenge people who are running these programs — and there are a large percentage of people who work as staff in these programs, who identify as ex-gay and knowing that the reason they are there is because they are trying to help repress their own sexuality — is to really tune in to the fact that, is it really working for themselves, and why if it is not inherently working for themselves, are they then trying to push these ideas onto kids?”

Despite the film showing Conley’s family as unaccepting and responsible for subjecting him to conversion therapy, it does not vilify the parents but rather presents them as victims of the mindset of a fundamentalist community and the trappings of charlatans.

“The film is about dismantling misconceptions and helping young gay people find their voice,” Conley tells VOA. “And this is why we play the long game, with not making easy villains because it’s a longer battle. These kids that are currently either in conversion therapy or going through it or some way about to go through it, are surrounded by family members, pastors, people in the community, who are deciding their faith for them.

“So, our jobs in many ways is to educate those people and maybe, they are not on the right side yet, but they can at least agree on one thing, which is: this is torture. So, if we get them to agree on that, we can save lives,” Conley said.

“At the day’s end,” the author added, “we got to choose how we love, when we love, what we do with our lives and no one gets to tell you how to do that.”
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A wheelchair used by the late British physicist Stephen Hawking has sold at auction for almost $400,000, with the money going to charity.

The motorized wheelchair, which was used by Hawking after he was paralyzed with motor neuron disease, had been expected to sell for around $20,000 in the online auction organized by Christie’s.

A copy of Hawking’s doctoral thesis, called “Properties of expanding universes” from 1965 sold for $767,000, much more than the estimate of $200,000.

Proceeds from the auction will go to two charities, the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Hawking was diagnosed with motor neuron disease at age 22 and given just a few years to live. However, he lived to the age of 76, dying in March.

Hawking explored the origins of the universe, expanding scientific thinking about black holes and became a well-known figure in pop culture.

A script from one of his appearances on the television series “The Simpsons” was one of the 22 items in the auction, selling for more than $8,000.

Hawking’s daughter, Lucy, said the sale gave “admirers of his work the chance to acquire a memento of our father’s extraordinary life in the shape of a small selection of evocative and fascinating items.”

Other items sold at the auction included an early edition of Hawking’s best-selling book, “A Brief History of Time,” marked with a thumbprint, a collection of his medals and awards, and essays.

In total, the auction raised $1.8 million for charity. Hawking’s family is donating other items from Hawking’s archive to the British government in lieu of paying inheritance tax.
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A Japanese broadcaster canceled a live TV appearance of the Korean band BTS after a photo went viral of a band member wearing a T-shirt showing an atomic bombing juxtaposed with the celebration of Korea’s liberation from Japan after World War II.

Japanese social media was filled with chatter over the photo of Jimin wearing the shirt with an image of a mushroom cloud with the English words “patriotism” and “Korea.”

TV Asahi said it had talked with the band’s recording company to try to learn why he wore the T-shirt. The broadcaster’s statement also apologized to viewers who had looked forward to the band’s appearance, which had been scheduled for Friday.

Company spokesman Shinya Matsuki declined further comment.

Universal Music said it will continue to support BTS but confirmed their appearance on the live music show “Music Station” was canceled.

are extremely popular in Japan, sometimes in stark contrast to the controversy and hostility that can mark other aspects of the two nation’s ties because of Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century until the end of World War II.

Some Japanese fans of the band expressed disgust on Twitter that their show was canceled over a T-shirt.

The seven-member BTS has collaborated with Japanese American DJ and musical artist Steve Aoki and has reached No. 1 on the Billboard

South Korean K-pop and movie stars chart.
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Netflix Inc plans to make 17 more original productions in Asia as it seeks to boost international subscriber numbers, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said on Thursday.

The plan, announced at Netflix’s content showcase event in Singapore, comes after the U.S. firm reported bumper quarterly earnings last month, driven by gains in international subscribers.

Netflix exceeded forecasts in both the U.S. and international markets, with the bulk of new subscribers coming from outside the United States where the company has been investing aggressively.

The firm has earmarked $8 billion for content this year, and has spent $6.9 billion as at the end of its third quarter.

In Asia, led by India, Netflix has won fans among a young, tech-savvy middle class, helped by a roster that includes top-grossing movie franchise Baahubali.

Chief Executive Reed Hastings has said India could deliver the service’s next 100 million subscribers.

Netflix scored a hit in India with Mumbai-based crime thriller Sacred Games. However, the Bollywood studio that produced the show disbanded last month after sexual harassment allegations against one of its partners, Vikas Bahl, and the show’s lead writer, Varun Grover. Both men have denied the allegations.

Netflix later backed the series for a second season.

At the end of September, Netflix had 137 million subscribers to its movie and TV streaming service worldwide. It began stocking its library with original films just three years ago.
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How do you spell success? For T.V. Ramakrishna, it’s spelled B-E-E. The retired civil engineer from Bangalore had the opportunity to attend college in the United States, where he settled and raised a family. He became familiar with spelling bees, in which students spell increasingly difficult words to win prizes like college scholarships. Those competitions inspired him to start a similar program in Bangalore, to give poor kids there a way to improve their English language skills and advance their educational opportunities.

Education opens doors

Ramakrishna was the youngest of seven kids, raised by a poor widow, who was lucky enough to have caring adults around him who helped him pursue an education.

Motivated by his teacher’s encouragement, he worked hard in school, won scholarships and went to college. Eventually, he came the United States, where he received his doctorate degree in civil engineering. He settled in West Virginia and had a successful professional and family life.

When he retired, he returned to Bangalore with his wife, Vijaya, and in 1998, founded the nonprofit Sahasra Deepika Foundation for Education.

Thousand lights of hope

Sahasra Deepika is a Sanskrit word that means 1,000 lights, explained Ramakrishna’s daughter, Sarva Rajendra. 

“My father looks at it as 1,000 lights of hope, love and compassion for children in need,” she added. “And he’s always believed that if each one of us would light the life of just one child in need, the world would change for the better.”

Rajendra, who serves as the foundation’s president, says her father’s goal is to help poor children in his hometown get a good education. In the past 20 years, Sahasra Deepika has helped hundreds of impoverished children, especially girls.

In 2009, the foundation expanded its programs to reach even more children in underserved government schools and help them improve their English language skills.

“Bangalore is a very cosmopolitan city, and if you don’t know English and you only know the native language of Kannada, you’re at a disadvantage to get a good job, even as a driver or anything like that,” Rajendra explained. “So, my father remembered seeing the National Spelling Bee in the U.S. so he kind of thought, why not use the words to reach more children in poor government schools. My Mom went to different schools and encouraged them to participate and this is how the program grew.”

​‘Bee the Future’

Last year, about 2,500 students from 25 schools took part in the competition. Winners get college scholarships and other prizes and opportunities offered by the sponsoring corporations.

“The scholarship to college is really, really an important prize for that child because they come from the lowest ranks of the society,” Rajendra explained. “To be able to get through and get the scholarship to the next stage is really a springboard for their future success.”

To celebrate the program’s 10th anniversary, Rajendra asked filmmaker Monika Samtani to produce a documentary about it. She traveled to Bangalore with a camera crew and a definite idea about how to craft the story.

“You can imagine what happens,” Samtani said. “Kids get on the stage, they spell a word. They win or lose. That’s not the approach we wanted to take. We wanted to hear the story, the journey of the children because that’s what makes it so special. We wanted to get their parents. We wanted to film their homes.”

So her film, Bee the Future, follows several students as they’re preparing for and going through the competition.

The students were chosen at random before the spelling bee took place, Samtani said.

“We wanted to see the process that they were going through, practicing at the school, practicing at home, early in the morning, late in the night, the intensity with which they practiced and also how important it was to their family,” she said. “So getting a sense of what this meant to them by going to their homes and schools.”

Turning points

One of those randomly selected kids, Priyanka Dodamani, won the competition.

Not only did she get a scholarship, she got an invitation to attend the U.S. National Spelling Bee in Washington.

“When we asked her, what is it that you want to do now?’” Samtani recalled, “She said, ‘I want to go right back to my village and have the opportunity to improve my village.’ It’s a turning point in her life. She wants to use her success to not only her advantage, but the greater community.”

Samtani, who was a reporter before starting her production company and becoming a filmmaker, says producing Bee the Future has also been a turning point for her in a way. She’s more determined than ever to keep creating documentaries that inspire and empower people, especially women, around the world.

As for the Sahasra Deepika Foundation, the success of the spelling bees has filled the program organizers with confidence that they can reach more children and inspire them to embark on the exciting journey that spells success for their future.
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School students across the U.S. are familiar with spelling bees. On stage, in front of an audience of fellow students and judges, participating students compete by spelling difficult words. These competitions inspired T.V. Ramakrishna to start a similar contest for poor kids in Bangalore, India. A new documentary, “Bee the Future,” captures the essence of this program. Faiza Elmasry tells us more about the film, the contest and the dream behind it. Faith Lapidus narrates.
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Attempted drone attacks at this year’s World Cup in Russia were thwarted by government authorities, the head of the host country’s Federal Security Service said Wednesday.

Alexander Bortnikov said his officers “took measures to detect and foil attempts by terrorists to use drones during the preparation and hosting of various major political and sports events, most of all during the soccer World Cup.”

In comments reported by the Tass state news agency, Bortnikov didn’t say who the “terrorists” were or how they were stopped.

Separately, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev told the Interfax news agency that seven “nationalist” hooligan gangs were stopped from attacking foreign fans. They had allegedly planned to target supporters from England, Senegal, Argentina and Poland.

Neither Bortnikov nor Kolokoltsev specified any court cases or convictions resulting from their agencies’ actions. In April, Russia said “extremists” and nationalist soccer hooligans had planned to attack World Cup events in the city of Samara but were foiled.

Russia used thousands of police and cutting-edge surveillance technology to guard the World Cup, including facial-recognition cameras, airport-style scanners and obligatory government-issue ID cards for anyone attending a game.

However, four Pussy Riot protesters managed to run onto the field during the final. They each served 15 days in jail for disrupting the event.

One of the protesters, Pyotr Verzilov, fell ill suddenly in September and was taken to Germany for treatment. Friends said he was poisoned, an explanation that German doctors considered “highly plausible,” though they couldn’t say who may have poisoned him or how.
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Since the start of the #MeToo Movement in late 2017, the hashtag has been used to demonstrate sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace around the globe. American actor Rose McGowan and South Korean poet Choi Young-me discuss the movement and the challenges that still remain. VOA’s Steve Miller reports from Seoul.
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A sprawling complex of four theaters billed as the biggest performing arts center in the world has opened in southern Taiwan.

 

The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts houses a 1,981-seat concert hall, a 2,236-seat opera house, a play house and a recital hall under a single roof covering 3.3 hectares (8.2 acres).

 

The opening season offers a range of artistic performances. The debut installation opera “Paradise Interrupted” is an international co-production with New York’s Lincoln Center Festival, the Spoleto Festival USA and the Singapore International Festival of Arts. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel, who conducts in Taiwan for the first time, will perform in the venue’s vineyard-style concert hall.

 

Performers are seeing the new venue as an opportunity.

 

“Not many people can say that they have performed” at the new venue, said Chloe Young, a member of the Sydney Dance Company. She said it was an honor to be dancing there. “And I think it’s really gonna boost my career, saying I performed in Taiwan, in an amazing theater, amazing facility, and I feel super super lucky.”

The center, which opened last month, was built over eight years at a cost of NT$10.7 billion ($350 million) on the site of a former military barracks in Kaohsiung, a southern city of about 2.8 million people.

 

The design by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo reflects the port city’s tropical location and maritime links. It includes an undulating white roof and a large public space with hoists and other cargo ship features.

 

“I think what is really unique is this roof, what was inspired by the banyan trees with the crown,” said Francine Houben, the creative director of Mecanoo. “I had to create a really new public space specifically for Taiwan, for Kaohsiung, that catches the wind of the ocean and the ventilation of the tropical space.”

 

The concert hall has the biggest pipe organ in Asia with 9,085 pipes. Built by a German manufacturer, its asymmetric design recalls bamboo.

 

“I have played many organs both in Taiwan and abroad, but this one is the biggest and the best,” said organist Liu Hsin-hung.

 

The center also includes an outdoor amphitheater.

 

He Wen-jhang, a 62-year-old retired physics and chemistry teacher who lives nearby, said he prefers to the art center to another real estate development.

 

“Coming here to exchange views greatly influences citizens’ temperament,” He said. “In the past, people only rushed to factories to make a living. But now, we have a place to relax and chat to each other. This has a big impact on Kaohsiung’s cultural aspect. A positive impact.”
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Michael Douglas celebrated his 50th year in show business on Tuesday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame near that of his screen legend father, Kirk Douglas, now 101.

Douglas, 74, best known for his Oscar-winning turn as Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street,” was accompanied by his father – star of 1960 gladiator movie “Spartacus” – his actress wife Catherine Zeta-Jones and “The China Syndrome” co-star Jane Fonda.

“When I first heard Michael was getting a star I thought, ‘What took so long?’ Especially because he has always been ahead of his time,” Fonda said at a ceremony marking the occasion.

Douglas has appeared in more than 60 films and television shows, including 1970s police series “The Streets of San Francisco,” psychological thrillers “Fatal Attraction” and “Basic Instinct,” and more recently the Marvel comic book movie “Ant-Man.”

Fonda, daughter of Henry, said she and Douglas both faced the challenge of being born into Hollywood royalty and trying to find their own way in the same world.

“Both of our fathers were movie legends,” she said. “Can you imagine Michael heading out to go to an audition and Spartacus is sitting at the table?”

Douglas is also a film producer, winning an Oscar for the 1975 film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and producing dozens of independent movies.

“I have been lucky enough to be part of classic Hollywood and new Hollywood,” he said.

He said he was honored to join the more than 2,600 men and women represented on the Walk of Fame: “They are people who passionately cared about what they did and about entertaining people around the world.”
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Elton John said he stood by the stage and sobbed at his foundation’s gala last year as Aretha Franklin made her final public performance.

“I was shocked to see how thin she was, and she just smiled her sweet smile at me and said, ‘I didn’t want to let you down,”‘ he told The Associated Press on the red carpet Monday night at this year’s party.

John said Franklin “gave us one of the greatest performances of our lifetime.” She died in August at age 76.

From the podium, John also acknowledged Tony Bennett, who was in the audience, as another inspirational singer.

“Artists like that don’t come around that often. They are dying out, and it’s such a shame because there’s no one to replace them,” the 71-year-old John told the crowd.

The gala raised $3.9 million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which was launched in 1992.

While the organization has been a leader in the fight against AIDS, the theme of the night at a grand Midtown ballroom was civility toward one another. John said he’s worried about America because “we live in perilous times.” He called on Americans to help all people feel like they belong.

“There should be no difference between the color of your skin, the religion you choose or your political party. We have to come together and embrace each other,” John said.

From the red carpet, John said civility has gone off the rails over the past couple of years. He’s especially disturbed by attacks on the transgender community.

“That doesn’t sit very well with me. Because people should have any right they want. People who want to be transgender should have their own rights,” John said.

David Furnish, John’s husband, drew a similarity to the discrimination in the early day of the AIDS epidemic.

“We like everybody to be treated with kindness and compassion,” he said. “You have to bring everybody along for the ride.”

John’s global humanitarian efforts help raise money for innovative AIDS prevention programs and campaigns to end stigma, as well as providing treatment, care and support services for people living with the disease. He’s proud of the organization’s humble beginnings.

“We started off on the kitchen table in Atlanta, and we’ve grown to where we are today. We’ve raised over $430 million worldwide. We’ve been responsible with matching funds worldwide over a billion dollars. That’s pretty amazing for a small organization like us. And we’ve survived,” John said from the carpet.

“Our motto is, no one gets left behind,” he said. “If you leave people behind, you’re never gonna win.”

The evening was hosted by CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King. Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, was the guest speaker. He made a passionate plea to reach out to people in places you have traditionally avoided.

The evening’s honorees included the Ford Foundation’s Darren Walker, Joe McMillan of the real estate investment firm DDG, and philanthropist Patricia Hearst. The granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, she is known for the events following her 1974 kidnapping by the terrorist group the Symbionese Liberation Army. Hearst spoke briefly on the red carpet.

“This is really the only organization that right now I would do this for. Because I do prefer to just be behind the scenes. This isn’t a big ego moment for me. This is something very special, and that’s why I agreed to be honored,” Hearst said.

The night closed with a performance by Sheryl Crow.
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Actor Idris Elba, who James Bond fans are campaigning to be the next person to play 007, was named the sexiest man alive on Monday by People magazine.

The London-born actor, 46, said he didn’t believe it when the magazine told him.

“I was like, ‘Come on, no way. Really?'” Elba told the celebrity publication. “Looked in the mirror, I checked myself out. I was like, ‘Yeah, you are kind of sexy today.’ But to be honest, it was just a nice feeling. It was a nice surprise — an ego boost for sure.”

One of Britain’s best-known stars, Elba won a Golden Globe for his lead role in BBC television detective series “Luther,” played a Norse god in “Thor” and appeared in U.S. television series “The Wire.”

Other actors and singers who have been given the title by the magazine’s editors in recent years include Blake Shelton, Chris Hemsworth, Adam Levine, George Clooney and Channing Tatum.

Only two other non-white men – African-American star Denzel Washington in 1996 and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, whose mother is Samoan and whose father is black Canadian, in 2016 – have won the title since People started the feature in 1985.

Fans have been campaigning for Elba, the son of African immigrants to Britain, to take over from Daniel Craig as secret agent James Bond in the lucrative movie franchise after the next Bond film, due for release in 2020.

Elba in August stoked the rumors that he was set to become the first black actor to play Bond when he posted a cryptic message on Twitter using one of the character’s best-known lines – “My name’s Elba, Idris Elba.” Days later he flatly denied it was going to happen, however.

Elba appears on the cover of a special double issue of People that arrives on newsstands on Friday. 
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January will mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of Motown Records, which became world famous for its distinct sound and star performers such as Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and numerous others. The Detroit-based company was topping the record charts during the 1960s, and its success continued after a move from Detroit to Los Angeles a little over a decade later. Motown Records was sold in 1994 and now operates under a parent company. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports.
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More than 46 years after it was shot, the Aretha Franklin concert film “Amazing Grace” will finally be released, ending one of the most tortured and long-running sagas in documentary film.

 

The late gospel singer’s estate and film producers said Monday that “Amazing Grace” will premiere Nov. 12 at the DOC NYC film festival with the full support of Franklin’s estate. The film, largely shot by Sydney Pollack, captures Franklin’s performance at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles’ Watts neighborhood in January 1972.

 

The music from the two performances was released as a landmark double live album in 1972. But Pollack’s footage proved virtually impossible to edit because the filmmaker failed to sync the sound. After acquiring the film’s rights from Pollack in 2007, producer Alan Elliott brought in a team to construct the film, which Elliott calls “a labor of love.”

 

“Aretha’s fans will be enthralled by every moment of the film as her genius, her devotion to God and her spirit are present in every frame,” Elliot said in a statement.

 

“Amazing Grace” nearly saw the light of day in 2015, but it was yanked at the last minute from the Telluride and Toronto film festivals after Franklin’s attorneys obtained an injunction against its release. They argued the film was “the functional equivalent of replaying an entire Aretha Franklin concert,” and couldn’t be screened without her consent.

 

A Colorado court largely agreed, ruling in 2016 that the concert film didn’t constitute “fair use,” prompting a new round of negotiations. Franklin passed away in August. Pollack died in 2008.

 

“Amazing Grace is the heart and soul of Aretha Franklin,” Sabrina Owens, Franklin’s niece, said Monday. “This film is authentic and is my aunt at her core. She was a daughter of the church, she loved gospel music, and she always incorporated some form of sacred music in her concerts.”

 

An Oscar-qualifying release of “Amazing Grace” is planned for this fall, with a larger rollout likely coming next year. The film doesn’t yet have distribution.
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A coroner has ruled rapper Mac Miller’s death an accidental overdose due to a combination of drugs and alcohol.

 

A Los Angeles County coroner’s report released Monday named the 26-year-old Miller’s cause of death as “mixed toxicity,” saying cocaine, alcohol and the powerful opioid fentanyl were found in his system.

 

Paramedics found Miller unresponsive in his Los Angeles home on Sept. 7 and declared him dead soon after. An autopsy was performed Sept. 10.

 

The Pittsburgh native was in a two-year relationship with Ariana Grande that ended earlier this year.

 

His music, which often examined his depression and drug use, won him fans among some of the biggest names in hip-hop.

 

Performers at a tribute concert for him last week included Chance the Rapper, Travis Scott and John Mayer.

 

 
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Eva Longoria, Rosario Dawson, Zoe Saldana, America Ferrera and Gina Rodriguez took to the streets of Miami, leading hundreds of people while chanting “Si se puede” or “Yes we can” in attempt to rally people to vote ahead of Election Day.

While the actresses were looking to improve voter turnout overall, they were specifically targeting the Latino community on Sunday as they marched down in Little Havana.

The group came together not only at the rally, but at a studio earlier also to film spots for various candidates. While the actresses are known for their Democratic leanings, they insisted the purpose was to get everyone engaged.

“I vote as an American and I’m out here rallying my fellow Americans to get out their vote because when we show up, our democracy will work better for us,” Ferrera said.

“We’re not out here as celebrities or actors or our professions,” said Ferrera. “I’m the daughter of immigrants, I am a true blue American, I bleed red white and blue.”

The group came together not only at the rally, but at a studio earlier also to film spots for various candidates. While the actresses are known for their Democratic leanings, they insisted the purpose was to get everyone engaged.

“I vote as an American and I’m out here rallying my fellow Americans to get out their vote because when we show up, our democracy will work better for us,” Ferrera said.

The Latino vote is expected to be key in several races across the country. The actresses acknowledged that the bloc is not a monolith in terms of its ethnic makeup or its political affiliation.

“We’re Mexican, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, but we have way more similarities than we do differences,” Longoria said. “For me it’s about finding that common ground, and not just with Latinos, but Americans.”

Added Saldana: “I think it is our duty to find our similarities, which are our great strengths, bind them together and use them as one voice to speak to the American public about the importance of representation.”

Dawson acknowledged that many Americans are dispirited by the tone of politics and may avoid the polls. She said she’s trying to encourage people despite the rhetoric of the day: “It’s so disgusting and it’s so disenchanting and disheartening.”

Still, she said she is undeterred.

“I have a 15 year old,” Dawson said. “She doesn’t listen, she emulates, and if mom sits this one out, what is that really conveying to her?
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Bono has a message for the U.S. Congress: Thanks for ignoring President Donald Trump.

Trump has sought to slash hundreds of millions of dollars from U.S. funding for AIDS programs at home and abroad, but the U2 frontman says members of Congress “have so far turned down this president’s request to cut AIDS funding — right and left in lockstep together on this.”

His message to them? “Thank you for your leadership.”

Bono is caught between hope and frustration as — for the third time in a decade — he organizes an auction to raise money for the fight against HIV/AIDS. Sotheby’s announced details Monday of the Dec. 5 sale in Miami to benefit (RED), the charity founded by Bono in 2006.

Two previous sales, in 2008 and 2013, raised $68 million. Five years on from the last, Bono says big strides in prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS are threatened by a slackening of global resolve.

“We could be at the dumbest moment ever, which is we’re almost at the moon and we turn back,” Bono told The Associated Press by phone from Dublin.

Almost 37 million people worldwide have HIV, with nearly 22 million of them receiving antiretroviral therapy, the most effective form of treatment, according to UNAIDS. The number of annual infections has fallen by almost half since 1996, to 1.8 million, and the number of deaths has halved since 2004.

Bono says the results are the product of “incredible leadership from around the world” that has made the elimination of the disease a realistic prospect.

“There’s this gathering consensus and momentum — and now people are looking the other way, and it’s just the wrong moment,” he said.

To help draw attention back to the cause, Bono turned to two influential artists whose work, he says, “has a social-justice core.” The auction is curated by British architect David Adjaye, who designed the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., and U.S. artist Theaster Gates, who runs artistic and social projects from his base on Chicago’s south side.

Adopting the theme “light,” the pair has assembled more than 50 lots from artists, architects and designers, including Ai Weiwei, Jeff Koons, Yinka Shonibare and Sean Scully. Design pieces include sneakers by Christian Louboutin; a curvy coffee table by the late Zaha Hadid; and a ring carved from a whole diamond, created by Apple Inc. design chief Jony Ive and industrial designer Mark Newson.

Adjaye is offering items he’s designed including a concrete speaker — in red, naturally — and Gates has contributed one of a series of tapestries made from strips of used fire hose.

“We wanted to re-shed light on this subject matter, metaphorically,” said Adjaye, who also worries that the world’s attention has strayed from AIDS, and other crises.

“I think our collective sense of civil society is very much under siege,” he said. “That creates a kind of ‘not my problem’ attitude, and I think we have to counter that.”

Money raised by the auction will go to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and to Gates’ Rebuild Foundation, which works with deprived communities in Chicago.

One criticism sometimes made of charities like (RED), which has persuaded big companies including Bank of America, Starbucks and Apple to promote AIDS awareness, is that its work lets politicians and governments off the hook.

Bono argues that “the point is to put them back on the hook.”

“Making something popular makes the politicians have to pay attention,” he said. “And we’re going to need that more than ever” in an era of growing nationalism.

“Women are the rising category (of infections) at the moment, and whilst the world is looking the other way in this rather childish fight among strongmen across the world, these budgets are being cut and women are paying the highest price.

“It’s really deeply upsetting for us all,” he added. “Because we were really getting excited. We thought, we’re at the point of inflection. And now we hear, ‘No, no. We’re going to cut these budgets.’ It’s not just America. A lot of countries are putting themselves first. At least they think it’s first — but as you know global health crises don’t respect borders.”

Artworks in the auction will be exhibited by Gagosian at the Moore Building in Miami from Dec. 1 to Dec. 7. They will be sold in a live auction Dec. 5 and an online sale that is open for bidding Nov. 12-Dec. 7.
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Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello was the big winner at the MTV EMAs gala in Spain on Sunday, while Janet Jackson used her acceptance speech for a life-time achievement award to take a stand for women’s rights.

Jackson was honored with the Global Icon Award for her four-decade, 11-album career that started when she was a child growing up in the family that also produced her music legend brother, Michael, and The Jackson Five.

The 52-year-old Jackson showed she still has her dance moves while performing a medley of “Made for Now,” ″All for You” and “Rhythm Nation” while accompanied by African drummers and torchbearers. She later said her award came with a responsibility.

“Tonight I feel moved to speak for those women whose voices have been silenced,” she said. “I am one of those voices, women who have been gagged, literally and metaphorically, women who have been abused, women who have lived with fear, I stand with you.

“Tonight I carry the hope that a new world is emerging. Women, our voices will be heard!”

Other than Jackson’s call for gender equality, the show was all about the dazzle provided by the costumes, choreography and the elaborate light and video displays on the huge circular stage.

With pop star Ariana Grande shut out despite her five nominations, Cabello was the undisputed star of the night.

The 21-year-old Cabello beat out Grande, Drake, Dua Lipa and Post Malone for best artist, while her sultry hit “Havana” took the trophy for best song and best video. She also topped the category for best act.

Last year, Cabello won the award for best pop artist at the edition held in London. Born in Havana before her family left for Miami, Cabello was discovered on the U.S. version of X-Factor and formed a part of the group Fifth Harmony.

The 25th edition of the awards, formerly known as the as the MTV Europe Music Awards, was as usual loaded with eye-catching performances, as well as references to Bilbao’s links to the art world, first and foremost thanks to the city’s Guggenheim Museum.

Host Hailee Steinfeld opened the show with a video sketch featuring her breaking into an art gallery to “steal” one of the MTV trophies, only to then emerge on stage in a tiny silver dress. Several costume changes later, she became a “work of art,” in her words, when she donned a long white dress and was sprayed with blue and yellow paint.

After Nicki Minaj and Little Mix got the music going, the singer of Panic! At The Disco made an action-movie entry. Frontman Brendon Urie was depicted in a video as climbing down the façade of the Bilbao Exhibition Centre before he was lowed from the hall’s ceiling while singing the opening of “High Hopes.”

When his group won the best alternative award, Urie announced “this is going in my bathroom.”

Minaj won for best hip-hop artist and best look. 5 Seconds of Summer left with the best rock award, Marshmello was voted best electronic artist, and best new artist went to Cardi B.

Shawn Mendes won for best live performer, and British singer-songwriter Dua Lipa was best pop artist.

The spectators went wild singing along to “Malamente” by Spanish sensation Rosalia, but the most moving performance belonged to Halsey. She delivered her heart-torn “Without Me” while chained inside a large transparent cube. When the cube lifted, water poured down on her like rain.

Boy duo Jack & Jack lifted spirits singing “Rise” while being hoisted aloft on wires, spinning and twisting over a stage that depicted a whirlpool until a friendly bunch of fans rushed in to cushion their landing.

On Saturday night, Muse kicked off the weekend’s festivities with guitar-driven rock concert at San Mames Stadium, home to local soccer club Athletic Bilbao.

The MTV EMAs is held in a different European city each year, with winners selected by fans across the continent.

 
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By the time Mary Keitany was pacing her way up Manhattan’s First Avenue, she had no reason to look back for challengers. The Kenyan’s lead was growing over the strong women’s field with every stride, and all she thought about was the finish line.

Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia didn’t break out into a big grin until he pulled away from two opponents late in the race.

In perfect crisp autumn weather for distance runners, Keitany and Desisa won the New York City Marathon on Sunday in near record times.

Keitany, 36, became the second woman to win the marathon four times. She ran the race in 2 hours, 22 minutes, 48 seconds, the second fastest time for the course in history. Margaret Okayo of Kenya set the record of 2:22:31 in 2003.

“I can say the course record was not in my mind,” Keitany said. “For me, winning was the most important.”

Desisa, 28, held off countryman Shura Kitata by 1.99 seconds for his first win in New York, joining victories at the Boston Marathon in 2013 and 2015. He finished second in New York in 2014 and third in 2015 and 2017.

“This is my dream,” Desisa said. “To be a champion.”

Desisa finished in 2 hours, 5 minutes, 59 seconds, the second fastest time for the course. Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya set the record of 2:05:05 in 2011. Last year’s winner, Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya, finished third.

“I’m pretty happy to finish on the podium,” Kamworor said. “I came out the best that I could in the race. I tried my best, and I’m happy to be third.”

Keitany won in 2014, 2015 and 2016 before coming in second last year to Shalane Flanagan, the first American woman in 40 years to win the New York City Marathon. She joined Grete Waitz, the Norwegian who won the marathon nine times between 1978-1988, as the only women to win the marathon four times.

She and Ethiopians Rahma Tusa and Gudeta turned their race to a three-woman field at the 15-mile mark. Keitany pulled away from Tusa and Gudeta at the 19-mile mark, leading Tusa by 26.58 seconds and Gudeta by 43.98 seconds. She extended her lead over Tusa to 1:27.83 at the 21-mile mark.

From that point, the question was not whether Keitany would win. Rather, it was by how much.

She beat countrywoman Vivian Cheruiyot by 3 minutes, 13 seconds.

Flanagan finished third.

“You have to find motivation, things to focus on,” Flanagan said. “When I finally got to third place, I got another level of excitement because I was fighting.”

The United States had four women finish in the top 10: Molly Huddle was fourth, Desiree Linden was sixth and Allie Kieffer was seventh.

Four American men also finished in the top 10: Jared Ward was sixth, Scott Fauble was seventh, Shadrack Biwott was ninth and Chris Derrick was tenth.

Daniel Romanchuk became the first American to win the men’s wheelchair division, with a time of 1:36:21. Romanchuk finished 01.15 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Marcel Hug. David Weir of Britain, American Aaron Pike and Australian Kurt Fernley rounded out the top five.

“I need air and I’m in pain,” said Romanchuk, a 20-year old from Champaign, Illinois, who won the Chicago Marathon last month. “It’s wonderful to be able to win my two Abbott major marathons on American soil. It’s an amazing experience.”

Manuela Schar of Switzerland repeated as winner of the women’s wheelchair division. Schar, who also won the Berlin and Chicago marathons, finished with a time of 1:50:27. American Tatyana McFadden finished second with a time of 1:50:48. Lihong Zou of China came in third. Eliza Ault-Connell of Australia and Margriet Van Den Broek of the Netherlands finished fourth and fifth.

“New York is always a really tough one for me because of the course,” Schar said. “I’m not really a good climber so I always have to work really hard in the flat part. Yeah (I) tried to make that ground that I lose in the hills. I’m always a bit more nervous before New York than before the other races.”

Retired NFL running back Tiki Barber finished the race in 4:44:47. He has run the marathon every year since 2014, with his best time being 4:28:26 in 2016. Actress Teri Hatcher recorded a time of 5:51:21 in her second marathon. In 2014, she compiled a time of 5:06:42.

 
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