Month: December 2018

She takes on a beloved movie character and dances with penguins, but what really terrified British actress Emily Blunt was descending slowly from the clouds as the new Mary Poppins.

More than 50 years after it first charmed audiences worldwide, Blunt stars in the sequel “Mary Poppins Returns” as the magical English nanny with a no-nonsense demeanor but a twinkle in the eye.

The Walt Disney movie, starting its global roll-out this week, is set 20 years after the musical fantasy that made Julie Andrews a star.

Despite new music, a new cast and new director Rob Marshall, “Mary Poppins Returns” pays homage to the original 1964 film, including the arrival of the singing nanny from the skies above London.

This time, however, Poppins floats down holding a battered kite rather than her parrot umbrella but with her signature carpet bag still in hand.

Blunt said she was “terrified” filming the scene while hoisted high up on a crane. “It’s very high. Rob (Marshall) wanted to do one shot where I start in the air and I come down and the cameras are here and I walk straight into my close-up.”

​”We did about four takes and then I was like, ‘Rob – please say you have it now. Have you got it? Just say you have it,'” said the actress, best known for her roles in thriller “A Quiet Place” and comedy “The Devil Wears Prada.”

Like the original, “Mary Poppins Returns” features fantasy sequences, dance numbers, animated dancing penguins. There’s even a cameo for a tap-dancing Dick Van Dyke, 93, who played Bert, the cheery London chimney sweep, in the 1964 film.

However Andrews, 83, who won an Oscar for her performance as Mary Poppins, has placed herself outside the spotlight, with no role in the sequel and no appearances at red carpet events.

Blunt, 35, said Andrews has been supportive of her taking on the role.

“I was very moved that she wanted this just to be my version of Mary Poppins and embraced as that, rather than her coming in at some point and being a distraction,” she said.

“I hear she’s just seen the film and loved it, so that means a lot to us,” Blunt added.

“Mary Poppins Returns,” which has been nominated for four Golden Globe awards, also stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, British actors Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw, and Meryl Streep in a cameo role.
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She takes on a beloved movie character and dances with penguins, but what really terrified British actress Emily Blunt was descending slowly from the clouds as the new Mary Poppins.

More than 50 years after it first charmed audiences worldwide, Blunt stars in the sequel “Mary Poppins Returns” as the magical English nanny with a no-nonsense demeanor but a twinkle in the eye.

The Walt Disney movie, starting its global roll-out this week, is set 20 years after the musical fantasy that made Julie Andrews a star.

Despite new music, a new cast and new director Rob Marshall, “Mary Poppins Returns” pays homage to the original 1964 film, including the arrival of the singing nanny from the skies above London.

This time, however, Poppins floats down holding a battered kite rather than her parrot umbrella but with her signature carpet bag still in hand.

Blunt said she was “terrified” filming the scene while hoisted high up on a crane. “It’s very high. Rob (Marshall) wanted to do one shot where I start in the air and I come down and the cameras are here and I walk straight into my close-up.”

​”We did about four takes and then I was like, ‘Rob – please say you have it now. Have you got it? Just say you have it,'” said the actress, best known for her roles in thriller “A Quiet Place” and comedy “The Devil Wears Prada.”

Like the original, “Mary Poppins Returns” features fantasy sequences, dance numbers, animated dancing penguins. There’s even a cameo for a tap-dancing Dick Van Dyke, 93, who played Bert, the cheery London chimney sweep, in the 1964 film.

However Andrews, 83, who won an Oscar for her performance as Mary Poppins, has placed herself outside the spotlight, with no role in the sequel and no appearances at red carpet events.

Blunt, 35, said Andrews has been supportive of her taking on the role.

“I was very moved that she wanted this just to be my version of Mary Poppins and embraced as that, rather than her coming in at some point and being a distraction,” she said.

“I hear she’s just seen the film and loved it, so that means a lot to us,” Blunt added.

“Mary Poppins Returns,” which has been nominated for four Golden Globe awards, also stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, British actors Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw, and Meryl Streep in a cameo role.
…

Why don’t chickens fly? When did the moon learn to be kind? 

Those and other mysteries were unravelled by dozens of African storytellers in Nairobi on Saturday, helping keep alive oral traditions increasingly under threat in the internet and smartphone age.

“To have that storyteller in front of you with an audience being able to interact is something very precious that we are in danger of losing,” said Maimouna Jallow, who organized the one-day Re-Imagined Storytelling Festival in Kenya’s capital.

Although written history has existed for centuries in West Africa, elsewhere on the continent knowledge and morality have mostly been transmitted through performance art, including the spoken word.

Tales from East African villages

For her research, Jallow collected folk tales from East African villages. “Nearly everywhere I went people had no recollection of their own stories, and the generation who used to tell these stories are now in their 80s,” she told Reuters.

“For me it was really important to see how we preserve not only the stories but in particular the culture of telling (them).”

With nods to giants of African culture such as Thomas Sankara and Fela Kuti, those narrated in Nairobi addressed issues common to African societies, ranging from war and materialism to humility and respect for children, often with a contemporary twist.

Storytelling relevant for rapper

For Alim Bamara, a rapper from Sierra Leone who grew up in London, storytelling has never been more relevant or topical.

“There’s a story about truth, and how truth knocked on people’s doors, and was always rejected and turned away,” he told Reuters.

“One day, parable took truth home, and fed truth and clothed truth in story. “Now truth… knocked on those people’s doors and this time was readily welcomed.”

Accompanying some performances was Gambian kora (African harp) player Sanjally Jobarteh, whose family has kept alive oral histories for over seven centuries.

Why chickens don’t fly?

For Usifu Jalloh, from Sierra Leone, storytelling can help validate existence. 

“When Africans were enslaved, and when invaders came in, the first thing they did was wipe out the identity of the people that they conquered and superimposed theirs on top,” he said. “When you know your story, you have a lot of power. When you forget your story you are just like a sheep.”

So why don’t chickens fly? Because chicken squandered all the wealth given to him as king of the sky. When the other birds found out, he was banished from the air and became man’s favorite food.
…

Why don’t chickens fly? When did the moon learn to be kind? 

Those and other mysteries were unravelled by dozens of African storytellers in Nairobi on Saturday, helping keep alive oral traditions increasingly under threat in the internet and smartphone age.

“To have that storyteller in front of you with an audience being able to interact is something very precious that we are in danger of losing,” said Maimouna Jallow, who organized the one-day Re-Imagined Storytelling Festival in Kenya’s capital.

Although written history has existed for centuries in West Africa, elsewhere on the continent knowledge and morality have mostly been transmitted through performance art, including the spoken word.

Tales from East African villages

For her research, Jallow collected folk tales from East African villages. “Nearly everywhere I went people had no recollection of their own stories, and the generation who used to tell these stories are now in their 80s,” she told Reuters.

“For me it was really important to see how we preserve not only the stories but in particular the culture of telling (them).”

With nods to giants of African culture such as Thomas Sankara and Fela Kuti, those narrated in Nairobi addressed issues common to African societies, ranging from war and materialism to humility and respect for children, often with a contemporary twist.

Storytelling relevant for rapper

For Alim Bamara, a rapper from Sierra Leone who grew up in London, storytelling has never been more relevant or topical.

“There’s a story about truth, and how truth knocked on people’s doors, and was always rejected and turned away,” he told Reuters.

“One day, parable took truth home, and fed truth and clothed truth in story. “Now truth… knocked on those people’s doors and this time was readily welcomed.”

Accompanying some performances was Gambian kora (African harp) player Sanjally Jobarteh, whose family has kept alive oral histories for over seven centuries.

Why chickens don’t fly?

For Usifu Jalloh, from Sierra Leone, storytelling can help validate existence. 

“When Africans were enslaved, and when invaders came in, the first thing they did was wipe out the identity of the people that they conquered and superimposed theirs on top,” he said. “When you know your story, you have a lot of power. When you forget your story you are just like a sheep.”

So why don’t chickens fly? Because chicken squandered all the wealth given to him as king of the sky. When the other birds found out, he was banished from the air and became man’s favorite food.
…

A number of Oscar hopefuls just got one step closer to a nomination with Monday’s reveal of nine Academy Awards shortlists, including best foreign language film where Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” and Lee Chang-dong’s thriller “Burning” are among nine films in consideration.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday announced shortlists for a number of below the line categories including hair and makeup, score, original song and best documentary, where crowd-pleasers like the Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary “RBG” and the Fred Rogers film “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” made the cut.

Shortlists, decided on by executive committees in the film academy, help narrow the playing field in many of the categories before they are whittled down further to five final nominations in late January.

Many believe Mexico’s “Roma” to be a front-runner for a best picture nomination as well, while the acclaimed “Burning,” which is based on a Haruki Murakami story, could make history by becoming South Korea’s first ever nominee.

Other films in contention include Poland’s “Cold War,” which was snubbed by the Golden Globe Awards, Lebanon’s “Capernaum,” Japan’s “Shoplifters,” Colombia’s “Birds of Passage,” Denmark’s “The Guilty,” Germany’s “Never Look Away” and Kazakhstan’s “Ayka.”

Notable documentary features also included on the shortlist include “Minding the Gap,” a 12-year odyssey about a group of skateboarders growing up in Rockford, Illinois, the too-wild-to-be-true “Three Identical Strangers,” about triplets separated by adoption at birth who find each other later in life, and the intense climbing film “Free Solo.”

This is the first time since 1979 that the film academy has released a shortlist for the music categories. Fifteen original songs were selected from 90 submissions and include “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born,” “All The Stars” from “Black Panther,” Dolly Parton’s “Girl in the Movies” from “Dumplin’,” and two songs from “Mary Poppins Returns” — “The Place Where Lost Things Go” and “Trip a Little Light Fantastic.”

“Mary Poppins Returns” and “Black Panther” were also shortlisted for best original score, as was “Vice” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” which were both composed by Nicholas Brittell.

Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced on Jan. 22, with one month before the Oscars on Feb. 24.
…

There’s something for everyone at the popular Downtown Holiday Market in Washington, DC.

Spreading holiday cheer

Every Christmas season for the past 14 years, small business owners from across the United States and overseas come to the heart of the nation’s capital to sell their crafts in a festive, village environment.

Visiting the market has become a fun annual tradition for locals and a nice surprise discovery for many out-of-town visitors who chance upon the two-block-long event with its neatly arranged rows of white tents.

They come to enjoy live music and exotic street food, but also to take advantage of the chance to find the perfect holiday gift…and meet the artisans who made the one-of-a-kind products for purchase.

A personal touch

“It’s a way to find authentic things that are handmade that have meaning beyond what you can find in a department store,” says Colorado resident Barbara Joseph, who’s in town to visit her family.

Her daughter, Jessica Hutzell, describes it as a more personal shopping experience, “because you’re talking maybe directly to the artist, or the person that made the beautiful piece of wood that you’re going to serve your cheese on.”

The wooden boards she’s describing come from Jeffrey Oh, who works with wood sourced from all corners of the U.S. in his DC area shop. There’s a photo in his booth of renowned Chef Jose Andres holding one of Oh’s signature boards, which he sells in a variety of wood grains, colors and textures.

Blazing glass

Glass artist Ryan Eicher drew a small crowd as he carefully aimed an open flame at a small piece of glass he was shaping into a sphere.

“I’m doing flame working,” he explained as he rotated the object at the end of a glass rod. “I’m making a glass pendant with a torch.”

“For me, being able to be out here and meet people and have them appreciate what I do, means a lot,” he says. “And I think the fact that I’m out here actually blowing glass helps people gain an appreciation for what I do and to understand the work and the effort that goes into each piece. It can be hard to really understand that without seeing the process.”

“It’s also a good sales tactic!” he added with a smile.

Crossing borders

Hector Zarate represents 17 native Peruvian artisans whose one-of-a-kind creations include ornaments, mirrors, and hand-woven alpaca clothing.

He says people enjoy meeting — or learning about — the people behind the products. “Anybody can shop online, anybody can go to a mall, but coming here makes it a very unique experience and a chance to buy something truly unique,” he said.

“I think the idea of engaging one-on-one with the artist, with the sources, with the people that represent the artist here is very important to them,” he added. “They feel connected, they feel like they’re supporting local businesses in a more direct way.”

Canadian visitor Kathryn was one of those people. After perusing the shelves at Zarate’s booth, she ended up buying a hand-woven scarf made of soft wool from a baby alpaca.

She excitedly lifted the new purchase from her shopping bag and explained how happy she was to have bought it. “I’d only gotten five or six stalls in, and here I am, buying something!”

Home-grown goodies and hoodies

Like-minded customers also enjoyed the experience of browsing through the covered booths while being able to talk with vendors about their handicrafts.

One customer found it hard to choose a scent among so many choices at a specialty soap shop. Another shopper, a soon-to-be-grandmother, couldn’t decide which onesie to buy for her unborn granddaughter. So she bought all three varieties. And a group of young women seemed to enjoy debating the definition of the perfect pair of silver earrings.

And that is a win-win experience for vendors and customers alike, says event co-founder and organizer Michael Berman.

“We do something a little bit different here where we really focus on the entrepreneurs as small-businesses, the artisans, the creators of their own products. So we really have unique items and unique gifts that you can’t find anywhere else. So in addition to the customer experiencing talking to the maker that you can’t do at a mall, it’s also this great interactive, festive atmosphere outside and is joyful and is fun and there’s something for everybody.”

Trendy arts

For some vendors, this year’s market also provided an opportunity to sell items that reflected the mood of the country.

Maryland-based Chouquette Chocolates, for example, developed a new line of artisan chocolates called “Phenomenal Women,” in honor of women “who have inspired us,” said Sue Cassidy, director of sales at the company.

One of the portraits molded in chocolate is of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “Our stores demanded that [her chocolates] have their own box, so she now has her own box and we can’t keep them in stock,” she said. “They are just selling like crazy!”

During its 31-day run, organizers expect more than 10,000 people will visit the market every day before it closes on December 23.
…

There’s something for everyone at the popular Downtown Holiday Market in Washington, DC.

Spreading holiday cheer

Every Christmas season for the past 14 years, small business owners from across the United States and overseas come to the heart of the nation’s capital to sell their crafts in a festive, village environment.

Visiting the market has become a fun annual tradition for locals and a nice surprise discovery for many out-of-town visitors who chance upon the two-block-long event with its neatly arranged rows of white tents.

They come to enjoy live music and exotic street food, but also to take advantage of the chance to find the perfect holiday gift…and meet the artisans who made the one-of-a-kind products for purchase.

A personal touch

“It’s a way to find authentic things that are handmade that have meaning beyond what you can find in a department store,” says Colorado resident Barbara Joseph, who’s in town to visit her family.

Her daughter, Jessica Hutzell, describes it as a more personal shopping experience, “because you’re talking maybe directly to the artist, or the person that made the beautiful piece of wood that you’re going to serve your cheese on.”

The wooden boards she’s describing come from Jeffrey Oh, who works with wood sourced from all corners of the U.S. in his DC area shop. There’s a photo in his booth of renowned Chef Jose Andres holding one of Oh’s signature boards, which he sells in a variety of wood grains, colors and textures.

Blazing glass

Glass artist Ryan Eicher drew a small crowd as he carefully aimed an open flame at a small piece of glass he was shaping into a sphere.

“I’m doing flame working,” he explained as he rotated the object at the end of a glass rod. “I’m making a glass pendant with a torch.”

“For me, being able to be out here and meet people and have them appreciate what I do, means a lot,” he says. “And I think the fact that I’m out here actually blowing glass helps people gain an appreciation for what I do and to understand the work and the effort that goes into each piece. It can be hard to really understand that without seeing the process.”

“It’s also a good sales tactic!” he added with a smile.

Crossing borders

Hector Zarate represents 17 native Peruvian artisans whose one-of-a-kind creations include ornaments, mirrors, and hand-woven alpaca clothing.

He says people enjoy meeting — or learning about — the people behind the products. “Anybody can shop online, anybody can go to a mall, but coming here makes it a very unique experience and a chance to buy something truly unique,” he said.

“I think the idea of engaging one-on-one with the artist, with the sources, with the people that represent the artist here is very important to them,” he added. “They feel connected, they feel like they’re supporting local businesses in a more direct way.”

Canadian visitor Kathryn was one of those people. After perusing the shelves at Zarate’s booth, she ended up buying a hand-woven scarf made of soft wool from a baby alpaca.

She excitedly lifted the new purchase from her shopping bag and explained how happy she was to have bought it. “I’d only gotten five or six stalls in, and here I am, buying something!”

Home-grown goodies and hoodies

Like-minded customers also enjoyed the experience of browsing through the covered booths while being able to talk with vendors about their handicrafts.

One customer found it hard to choose a scent among so many choices at a specialty soap shop. Another shopper, a soon-to-be-grandmother, couldn’t decide which onesie to buy for her unborn granddaughter. So she bought all three varieties. And a group of young women seemed to enjoy debating the definition of the perfect pair of silver earrings.

And that is a win-win experience for vendors and customers alike, says event co-founder and organizer Michael Berman.

“We do something a little bit different here where we really focus on the entrepreneurs as small-businesses, the artisans, the creators of their own products. So we really have unique items and unique gifts that you can’t find anywhere else. So in addition to the customer experiencing talking to the maker that you can’t do at a mall, it’s also this great interactive, festive atmosphere outside and is joyful and is fun and there’s something for everybody.”

Trendy arts

For some vendors, this year’s market also provided an opportunity to sell items that reflected the mood of the country.

Maryland-based Chouquette Chocolates, for example, developed a new line of artisan chocolates called “Phenomenal Women,” in honor of women “who have inspired us,” said Sue Cassidy, director of sales at the company.

One of the portraits molded in chocolate is of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “Our stores demanded that [her chocolates] have their own box, so she now has her own box and we can’t keep them in stock,” she said. “They are just selling like crazy!”

During its 31-day run, organizers expect more than 10,000 people will visit the market every day before it closes on December 23.
…