Month: January 2019

The very first image in Netflix’s new film Close is South Sudan’s flag billowing in the wind.

Shot in Morocco, the opening scene introduces the main character, a professional bodyguard named Sam, played by actress Noomi Rapce, who accompanies two journalists across war-torn terrain in a vehicle that is ambushed by armed men.

The scene is action-packed and lasts only 4½ minutes, but it has dominated heated discussion and sparked questions about why South Sudan’s flag was used. The country has been locked in a civil war since 2013.

“If you use people’s flag, you need to talk to them to see whether you are offending them, because it is not just about leadership, it’s not just about governments, it’s about people,” said Kuir Garang, a South Sudanese-Canadian novelist living in Alberta, Canada. 

Netflix did not respond to requests for comment.

Garang said he feels the internet giant owes South Sudan an explanation.

“There are many people here in Canada, in Australia, in the U.S. who use that flag. And if that flag represents terrorism, or you know, mindless violence, and is seen on the cause of people, those people can easily be associated with terrorism,” he said.

Many people also expressed their concerns on Twitter.

South Sudanese native Malith Dak Gerich, who lives and works in South Korea, said moviemakers did not consider the fact that the South Sudanese flag was a lot more than a plot object to many observers around the world.

“Looking at the movie, I cannot even go through New York City wearing anything to do with the South Sudanese flag without [fear of being] attacked or something like that,” Dak said.

Garang said the larger issue is that the scene pushed a negative narrative about his country, and that Westerners should work harder to understand the context and the sensitivities of each country.

“I think people at Netflix should see that they have resources, moviemakers have resources, so what they should do is to put in resources into making research as to what is appropriate talk to the people,” he said.
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Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka says she hopes her sponsors will consult with her about how they portray her, but her focus is on her game as she heads into the final at the Australian Open.

Osaka was asked about criticism over one of her main sponsors, Nissin Foods Holdings, after they took down an online ad campaign that depicted her with pale skin after it was criticized as insensitive. Critics said the depiction does not reflect Osaka’s biracial background

“I’ve talked to them. They’ve apologized,” Osaka said. “I’m tan. It’s pretty obvious.”

Osaka said she didn’t think the ad was intended to “whitewash” her.

“But I definitely think that the next time they try to portray me or something, I feel like they should talk to me about it,” she told reporters in Melbourne.

Osaka used her smooth power to beat Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the semifinals Thursday.

“I’m just focused on this right now. I’ve gotten to the final of a slam, and that’s sort of my main priority,” said Osaka, whose father is Haitian and mother is Japanese.

Daisuke Okabayashi, a spokesman for Japanese noodle-maker Nissin Foods Holdings, said Thursday the company meant no disrespect for diversity with its two animation clips that went up earlier this month and were deleted from the company’s online site Wednesday.

“We as a company put human rights first, and our stance of valuing diversity is unchanged,” he said in a telephone interview

Okabayashi said the ads were approved by Osaka’s agent, but the company was later asked to take them down. He said the company continues to support Osaka and did not want the flap to be a distraction.

Nissin became Osaka’s corporate sponsor in November 2016, joining a list of companies, such as Nissan Motor Co. and the watch brand Citizen, hoping to cash in on a level of stardom that’s rare among Japanese athletes.

Osaka’s appeal has grown in Japan since she beat Serena Williams in last year’s U.S. Open. Her performance at the Australian Open has topped daily news coverage.

It’s not the first time Japan has been criticized for insensitivity to diversity issues, including race, nationality, gender and sexual orientation. Osaka’s visibility and natural charm are seen as contributions to Japan’s acceptance of racial and other differences.

Baye McNeil, an American who has lived in Japan for more than a decade, said Japanese are often unaware of what might upset a global audience. His commentary in The Japan Times, a local English-language daily, was among the first to express outrage over the Nissin ad.

“She looks totally like a white woman in the ad,” said McNeil, who writes and lectures about the problem of race in Japan. “It was very whitewashed.”

Japanese companies need to become more inclusive if they hope to appeal to a global market, he added.

“They are not thinking on that level,” McNeil said. “It may be painful, but Japan is going through growing pains right now.”

Nissin’s ad was based on a manga and animation series called “The Prince of Tennis,” created by artist Takeshi Konomi. The ad showed characters from the work and also characters meant to depict Osaka and male Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori, playing on a court.
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The lawyer for a woman who filed a rape complaint in Paris against American singer Chris Brown and two other men says she was raped four times during a drug-fueled party.

Police questioned Brown and the others before releasing them from custody without charges Tuesday. The Paris prosecutor’s office says the investigation hasn’t been closed.

Lawyer Franck Serfati told The Associated Press on Thursday the woman alleges she was forced to take cocaine and raped by the three men at a Paris hotel.

Brown’s legal representative in France, Raphael Chiche, didn’t immediately respond to several calls and messages seeking comment.

Chiche tweeted Wednesday he was preparing a defamation complaint that “(hash)ChrisBrown will file against his accuser.”

The Associated Press identifies people making sexual assault allegations who agree to be named. Serfati’s client requested anonymity.

 
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Cardi B will have her first Last Vegas residency this spring.

Palms Casino Resort announced Wednesday the 26-year-old singer’s appearance as part of its debut of KAOS, a dayclub and nightclub amphitheater-style complex that is set to open in April.

Above and Beyond, G-EAZY, Kaskade and Skrillex are among the other artists who will have exclusive residencies at the complex.

KAOS is part of the Palms’ $690 million renovation that features state-of-the-art technology designed to enhance performances including a rotating 360-degree DJ booth.

Tickets for select dates are available.
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A stage musical about Michael Jackson will premiere in Chicago later this year before heading to Broadway in 2020.

Officials said Wednesday that “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” will begin pre-Broadway performances at Chicago’s Nederlander Theatre on Oct. 29 and run through Dec. 1.

The previously confirmed musical, inspired by Jackson’s life and music, is still under development. Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage is writing the book, using Jackson’s vast catalog of songs. Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon will direct and choreograph.

Jackson sold millions of records and was a 13-time Grammy winner. In 1983 he became an international icon with the release of “Thriller,” the best-selling album of all time with such hits as “Beat It” and “Billie Jean.” He died in 2009.

 
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A coalition of big names in sports and entertainment is taking on criminal justice reform.

Rappers Meek Mill and Jay-Z and the owners of the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and the Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots came together in New York City on Wednesday to announce the launch of an organization that will lobby for changes to state probation and parole laws.

The Reform Alliance will be led by Van Jones, a CNN host, activist and former adviser to President Barack Obama.

Sixers co-owner Michael Rubin said the group is dedicating $50 million to the effort.

Mill became a symbol for criminal justice reform activists after a judge in Pennsylvania sentenced him to 2-4 years in prison for minor violations of his probation conditions in a decade-old gun and drug possession case. He spent months in prison before a court ordered him released.

The performer said the Reform initiative “is one of the most important things I’ve ever done in my life” and that he’s speaking “for people who don’t have a voice.”

About 2.2 million people in the U.S. are incarcerated, and about 4.5 million are on probation or parole, according to government statistics.

“If you thought my case was unfair, there are millions of others dealing with worse situations and caught up in the system without committing crimes,” said Mill, who will remain on probation until 2023. “With this alliance, we want to change outdated laws, give people hope and reform a system that’s stacked against us.”

Jones said the Reform Alliance is taking aim at the cycle of probation and parole violations that leads people back to prison.

“That is the revolving door that keeps people back in and back in and back in,” Jones said. “We’re going to dismantle that revolving door.”

Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the current system “is not good for America.”

“We can make America better if we really cure this problem,” he said.

 
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Kaye Ballard, the boisterous comedian and singer who appeared in Broadway musicals and nightclubs from New York to Las Vegas and starred with Eve Arden in the 1960s TV sitcom “The Mothers-In-Law,” has died. She was 93.

Ballard died Monday night at her home in Rancho Mirage, California, after a fight with kidney cancer, her friend Marguerite Gordon said Tuesday.

“The Mothers-In-Law,” in which Ballard starred with Arden (of the 1950s sitcom “Our Miss Brooks”), aired from 1967 to 1969. It marked a high point in a career that began when Ballard was 12 and lasted into the 21st century.

She was on hand last week when a documentary on her life and career premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

“She was so excited to be able to tell her story,” said Dan Wingate, the film’s director. “She was really anxious for young people, especially, who are going into the arts to understand the full breadth of a life in the arts, the ups and downs.”

The audience’s response was gratifying for her, “to hear that applause and feel that love,” Wingate said, and she was thrilled when the documentary was singled out for festival honors.

’The Mothers-In-Law’

​”The Mothers-In-Law” was set in a Los Angeles suburb and featured its stars as women who become thorns in their married children’s lives, with comedic results influenced by the screwball style of “I Love Lucy.” 

Desi Arnaz, who starred with wife Lucille Ball in that classic sitcom, produced and directed 24 episodes of the Ballard-Arden show. The “I Love Lucy” team of Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Pugh Davis were the show’s creators and lead writers.

Ballard made a mark in every form of show business except movies. She did appear as a secondary player in a few films, including 1958’s “The Girl Most Likely” starring Jane Powell and in 1964’s “A House Is Not a Home,” but her high-octane personality may have been too potent for the big screen of that era and its more restrictive portrayals of women.  

Movie stardom

Movie stardom was her first dream, as it was for others of her generation, filmmaker Wingate said, and he wanted the documentary to be seen on the big screen to help fulfill that goal.

But even falling short of a big film career, “she was able to reach and endear herself to so many people,” he said. 

Ballard’s first real break came when she was singing in a Detroit nightclub, The Bowery. Comedy bandleader Spike Jones dropped in one night and quickly drafted the exuberant young singer into his musical contingent. For two years she toured with Jones’ troupe, singing, playing the flute and tuba and engaging in the band’s antics. She also sang with the bands of Vaughn Monroe and Stan Kenton.

Moved to New York

In 1945 she moved to New York and sought work in theater, appearing on Broadway in a small part in the revue “Three to Make Ready.” She toured in summer stock and finally made a dent in New York as a madcap Helen of Troy in 1954’s “The Golden Apple,” drawing applause with her song “Lazy Afternoon.” One critic called her performance “a wonder of insinuation.”

She also won critical praise for her role as “The Incomparable Rosalie,” the magician’s assistant and mistress in 1961’s “Carnival!,” a musicalized version of the movie “Lili.” She sang “Always, Always You” while stretched out in a box the jealous magician was piercing with swords.

Ballard began working on TV in the early 1950s, becoming an in-demand performer on network variety programs including “The Mel Torme Show” and those of Ed Sullivan and Perry Como. She also became a favorite of talk show hosts, making repeat appearances with Jack Paar, Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson.

TV regular

She was a regular on “The Doris Day Show” in the 1970s and the 1990s TV series “Due South.”

Her nightclub act played in first-class venues including the Blue Angel in New York, Mr. Kelly’s in Chicago, the Flamingo in Las Vegas and the hungry i in San Francisco.

She was born Catherine Gloria Ballota to Italian immigrant parents in Cleveland, Ohio, on Nov. 20, 1925, according to her 2006 memoir “How I Lost 10 Pounds in 53 Years.” (She noted she had always said she was born in 1926.) 

She changed her name to Kaye Ballard when she entered show business. On the advice of a numerologist she switched to Kay in midcareer.

“He said my luck would change if I dropped the `e’,” she told a reporter in 1983. “It did. It went steadily downward.”

She eventually returned to being Kaye.

‘Wasn’t pretty enough’

Determined to become an actress, she would not be discouraged by a high school teacher who rejected her for a drama class, concluding she “wasn’t pretty enough,” nor her parents, who didn’t understand the business.

She sang at service clubs and appeared at a “Stage Door Canteen” in Cleveland. After graduating from high school she worked at a burlesque theater, not as a stripper but as straight woman in comedy sketches. She went on the road with her act of songs, comedy and impressions of famous stars and in Detroit made the fortuitous connection with Jones.

In the early 2000s, Ballard toured with other stars in a musical comedy “Nunsense” and joined the touring company of the Broadway hit “The Full Monty” as piano player for six men who stripped to make money with a musical show.

Career came first 

Ballard was engaged four times but never married.

“I didn’t want to,” she told The Associated Press in 1999. “I could have, many times. But I just wanted a career too much. I was smart enough to know, if you get married and have children, that’s it. Being Italian and raised as a Catholic, I took children seriously. Maybe I made a mistake. Who knows?”

She purchased her Southern California desert home from Arnaz in the early 1940s.

“It’s a stone’s throw from Gerald Ford,” she said of her presidential neighbor in a 1981 interview. “When he moved in, he upped my property value. It made me think of becoming a Republican.”

A non-starter was ever leaving show business, even as the years passed.

“I’m not going to retire. I don’t believe in retiring,” she told the AP in 2001. “I do take more time off now to enjoy life and my three dogs and house. But if something wonderful comes up, I’m ready.” 
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In the cliffs high above the Dead Sea archaeologists chip away with pick axes, hoping to repeat one of the most sensational discoveries of the last hundred years – the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The scrolls, a collection of manuscripts, some more than 2,000 years old, were first found in 1947 by local Bedouin in the area of Qumran, about 20 km east of Jerusalem.

They gave insight into Jewish society and religion before and after the time of Jesus, and spurred a decade of exploration, before the search fizzled.

Recent finds have stirred fresh excitement however, and archaeologists are probing higher and deeper than before. Hundreds of caves remain unexcavated and the experts are racing against antiquities robbers.

“In the last few years we noticed new pieces of scrolls and parchments arrive on the black market,” said Oren Gutfeld, an archaeologist at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

“It drove us to return to the caves,” he said, sitting at the entrance of a cliffside grotto known to his team as “52B”.

In 2017 his team discovered remains of storage jugs in a previously-unexcavated cave at Qumran, though any scrolls they may have held were missing.

At about 200 meters (656 ft) above the level of the Dead Sea, 52B is higher than where the scrolls were found in the 1950s, which may or may not have made it an ideal hiding place.

Towards the back of the cave is a narrow burrow, packed with debris from centuries of wind and flash floods, that when cleared could extend about 10 meters. Volunteers sift through buckets of dirt.

“People thought there was nothing left to find … there just wasn’t incentive to do this,” said Randall Price, a professor at Liberty University, a Christian campus in the United States, who helped fund the dig.

But 52B did not appear on previous surveys and could yield precious secrets, Price said.

LOST TREASURES

In the narrow streets of the open-air shuk (market) of Jerusalem’s Old City, Eitan Klein of the Israel Antiquities Authority stops by dealers to make sure their goods appear in an official registry and are not being traded on the black market.

Klein is deputy director of the authority’s robbery prevention unit, which in late 2016 recovered a fragment of text on a piece of papyrus mentioning the word ‘Jerusalem’ from the 7th century B.C. that had been plundered from a cave by antiquities robbers.

Following the papyrus’ discovery and other intelligence operations, Klein said “the assumption is that there are still artifacts inside the caves waiting to be found. The question is, who will discover them?”

New discoveries could also help solve the debate over who authored the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Expanding the search to further possibilities is the Copper Scroll, found in Qumran in 1952. Unlike its companions that were written on parchment or papyrus, this was a list of 64 hiding places for gold and valuables, etched on copper.

Hebrew University’s Gutfeld said the treasure referred to may be from the ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem. In 2006 he finished excavating two manmade tunnels not far from Qumran that he believes matched a description in the Copper Scroll of the so-called Valley of Shadow.

One of the tunnels, a two-meter high, shoulder-width corridor, extended 125 meters underground. No treasure was found, but Gutfeld promised to continue searching in new spots.

“I’m not a treasure hunter. I’m an archaeologist,” Gutfeld said. But he added: “We hope to find any hint or relationship to what we know from the text of the Copper Scroll.”

 
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