Television

Subterms

    More stories

    • 138 Shares149 Views

      in Television

      Can an Abuser Make Amends? ‘The Color Purple’ Points the Way

      by

      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storycritic’s notebookCan an Abuser Make Amends? ‘The Color Purple’ Points the WayAfter #MeToo, as movies and TV grapple with issues of rape, revenge and restorative justice, a survivor reconsiders a male character at a crossroads.In the movie adaptation of “The Color Purple,” Celie, center, played by Whoopi Goldberg, escapes an abusive relationship and finds a better life with Shug (Margaret Avery) and Squeak (Rae Dawn Chong.)Credit…Warner Bros.Feb. 5, 2021Updated 6:28 p.m. ETRevenge is at the heart of “Promising Young Woman.” Not only does the film open with its main character Cassie (Carey Mulligan) targeting men who take advantage of inebriated women, but we soon realize that she does so in service of a larger goal: avenging the rape, and eventual suicide, of her best friend, Nina. Even though she ultimately appears to get justice, this result is far from gratifying. Rather, it is a sobering reminder that because most rape victims will never see their assailants held accountable in their lifetime, revenge, or at least the fantasy of it, is all that is left.To me, the movie is an example of how the #MeToo movement has influenced representations of sexual assault onscreen. Works like Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix special “Nanette” and Michaela Coel’s breakout HBO show “I May Destroy You” center the voices of rape survivors, while movies like “The Assistant” and “Promising Young Woman” show the perspective of friends or female bystanders who also suffer as secondary victims of sexual assault. Unfortunately, even as the embrace of these points-of-view represents progress, these narratives also reflect a real-world legal system that repeatedly denies or delays justice to rape victims.Arabella (Michaela Coel) and Zain (Karan Gill) in a scene from HBO’s “I May Destroy You.”Credit…HBOAs both a critic and as a feminist activist, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this dilemma. And over the past two years I have been working on the book “In Search of The Color Purple: The Story of an American Masterpiece,” about Alice Walker’s groundbreaking novel that prioritized the vantage point of a rape and domestic abuse survivor named Celie. Through the redemptive arc of its antagonist, Albert, “The Color Purple,” from 1982, paved the way for today’s debates about atonement, rehabilitation and forgiveness. It anticipates the extralegal practice of restorative justice, a remedy that is intended to heal victims as well as prevent the accused from reoffending by having them accept full responsibility for their actions, while also engaging in a consensual, reparative process with their victims.When I began my research on “The Color Purple,” a story that I first read at 15, I knew that I would focus on Celie’s relationships with her sister, Nettie, her bawdy blues woman lover Shug and the defiant Sofia. Those are the Black female characters that I have turned to as I struggled with my own sexual assault as a teenager in the 1990s, the ones I highlighted to my students as a young college professor in the early 2000s, the ones I find renewed inspiration in today.But what I did not expect to find was how much my middle-aged self would be drawn to Albert, the figure Celie fearfully refers to as M______ (Mister) for most of her life. Celie is forced by Pa — who has raped and impregnated her and given away her two children — to marry Albert, a much older widower. When Celie joins Albert’s family, he continually beats her as she raises his children and tends to his house. It is only over time that we realize how broken he is, defeated both by Jim Crow and his domineering father, who prevented him from marrying his life’s love, Shug. In other words, while his rage is never justified, the novel seeks to understand its origins, giving it a powerful story line that was often initially overlooked by the novel’s biggest detractors.Though “The Color Purple” earned Walker a National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the novel also generated much criticism, mostly from well-known Black male writers and community activists who were offended by the depiction of abuse by Pa and Albert and by Celie healing from that violence in a romantic relationship with Shug. By the time the movie debuted in 1985, Walker and the filmmakers were ill-prepared to defend themselves against accusations that the movie reproduced vicious stereotypes about African-American men. Such condemnations overlooked the healing made possible by Albert’s own desire to make amends.After Celie discovers that Albert has been hiding Nettie’s letters from her for decades, she leaves with Shug, and curses Albert.Soon Albert’s life — his farm, his home, his family — fall apart, forcing him to make a critical decision: either crumble or find a way to reconcile with Celie. And so he rises to the occasion, and begins the long journey of repairing his relationships with his son and grandchildren, and in time, Celie and her children.Celie (Goldberg) rebels against the abusive Albert (Danny Glover) on a day she prepares to leave him. Credit…Warner Bros.Albert’s arc, however, was far more abbreviated in the Oscar-nominated movie, in which he was indelibly played by Danny Glover. But even with his limited transformation onscreen, I see Albert anew when I watch the movie now.Glover imbued his character with such charisma, dignity and depth that Albert is neither pure villain nor a blameless victim. Instead, he is a Black man at a crossroads and thus has the opportunity to reimagine what paths of masculinity lie ahead.But Walker’s vision of Albert was realized in the musical adaptation that premiered on Broadway in 2005 and even more fully in a revival in 2015 with Isaiah Johnson in the role. In that version, Albert’s breakdown is even more totalizing, making his turnaround all the more meaningful, and memorable.“Albert gets his redemption and he does something,” said John Doyle, the director of the Tony-winning revival. “He does things for the children of the community and maybe that’s all a little through a pink gauze. But there’s something wonderful about that.”These days as we, on college campuses, in the halls of Congress, or in our homes, argue about how best to forgive or punish those who have harmed others, we often miss a crucial aspect of the debate that might help us move forward.A scene from the Broadway musical adaptation of “The Color Purple” in 2015; from left: Jennifer Hudson as Shug, Cynthia Erivo as Celie, Isaiah Johnson as Mister/Albert and Kyle Scatliffe as Harpo.Credit…Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesHow does one actually atone for violence they inflict on others?Given pervasive racial bias in the criminal justice system, it makes sense that Black women, like Walker, have imagined accountability outside of the courtroom. Among recent #MeToo narratives, “I May Destroy You,” created by the Black British artist Coel, gestures to restorative justice through the relationship between Arabella (Coel) and fellow writer Zain (Karan Gill). After he removes his condom without her consent during sex, Zain is later able to earn her begrudging trust by helping her complete her book, which in turn leads to her journey of self-acceptance and rebirth.But then Zain revives his own writing career under a pseudonym. Albert embarks on the much more arduous path of acknowledging his violence and all the harm that he caused.And in the final moments of “The Color Purple” onstage, his hard work leads to him standing together with his family. He is not a hero — that status belongs to Celie, Shug and Sofia — but he still gives us a reason to hope.Because most survivors of violence will never hear an apology or benefit from such restitution, Albert remains one of the more elusive and exceptional characters in American culture, a figure that can teach us all to take accountability for our actions, and to find redemption along the way.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

    • 150 Shares179 Views

      in Television

      Rege-Jean Page Says 'Bridgerton' Fame Left Him 'Scared' and He Explains Why

      by

      Netflix/Barnaby Boulton

      The ‘For the People’ actor talks about his role and intimate scenes on the new Netflix period drama series and how the show’s huge success left him apprehensive.

      Feb 6, 2021
      AceShowbiz – Rege-Jean Page had no problems shooting his “Bridgerton” sex scenes with co-star Phoebe Dynevor thanks to the couple’s on-set intimacy co-ordinator.
      The consultant was on hand for every racy scene, making sure both Page and Dynevor were comfortable.
      “Everything is choreographed,” Rege-Jean tells U.K. talk show host Graham Norton. “It takes the risk and the embarrassment out of the scene.” Although some of the star’s family tried to dodge his sex scenes, they took up so much screen time, it proved impossible.

        See also…

      Asked if his relatives watched him making love to Phoebe, he said, “There were some cousins missing from the family WhatsApp group and they said, ‘We made our tactical cups of tea when you started and when we came back you were still going!’ ”
      Following the popularity of “Bridgerton”, Rege-Jean has been tipped to be the next James Bond but he refused to be drawn on any speculation, joking, “Bridgerton is the only ‘B’ word I am allowed to say. I am not going to talk about the other ‘B’ words!”
      Meanwhile, the actor joked the attention he’s received from the show has made him “scared” of who might approach him while the U.K. is in lockdown.
      He said, “It’s just me and the four walls and I don’t go to the front door because I am scared. You don’t know who’s going to be there. It’s the only thing that is real about the whole thing!”

      You can share this post!

      Next article
      Ridley Scott, Chris Evans and More Pay Tribute to Late Christopher Plummer

      Related Posts More

    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in Television

      Salma Hayek Scolded by TV Cast and Crewmembers for Repeatedly Violating Covid-19 Protocols

      by

      WENN

      The ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ actress admits she struggled to keep up with the coronavirus protocols as she kept forgetting to wear face masks when she’s on the set.

      Feb 6, 2021
      AceShowbiz – Actress Salma Hayek is constantly scaring people away on film and TV sets amid the Covid-19 pandemic because she frequently forgets to wear her face mask.
      The “Frida” star admits she really should know better, having served as an executive producer on Netflix’s Mexican drama series “Monarca”, but she has repeatedly been scolded by other cast and crewmembers for unintentionally going mask-less as she wanders from post to post.
      “I was producing a show, Monarca…, the second season, and so I, as a producer, had to go through all the (COVID) complications to get the show going, and so we could finish it,” she told U.S. breakfast show “Today”. “And even knowing all of that, when I went to do it (act) myself after being an actress for more than 30 years, I would do everything wrong!”

        See also…

      “I eat most of the time on the craft table (sic) and I would go to the craft table, try to grab something, and they’re like, ‘No! Don’t touch anything!’ I’m like, ‘It’s a Snickers bar.’ They’re like, ‘No! Don’t touch it…!'” Salma recalled.
      “And after a take, I take my mask off and… I go, ‘I’m gonna go check it out on the monitor…,’ and everyone’s running away from me. ‘No, you can’t come this way, you have no mask!’ ”
      “I know that those are the rules but when you’re used to it (regular life on set) for so long, it’s so weird,” she added.

      You can share this post!

      Next article
      The Weeknd: There’s No Room for Special Guests at My Super Bowl Half-Time Show

      Related Posts More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Television

      Her Specialty Is Bringing Headstrong Women to Life Onscreen

      by

      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyHer Specialty Is Bringing Headstrong Women to Life OnscreenWhether playing a social-climbing singer (in “Lola”) or an aging lesbian (in her latest, “Two of Us”), Barbara Sukowa brings the charisma of an old-fashioned star.The actress in Brooklyn. She has inspired filmmakers ranging from Rainer Werner Fassbinder to Margarethe von Trotta.Credit…Celeste Sloman for The New York TimesFeb. 5, 2021, 10:00 a.m. ETThere is a scene in the new drama “Two of Us” in which an older woman played by Barbara Sukowa is so angry, so desperate — and so determined — that after someone terminates a conversation by closing a door on her, she breaks a window to make a statement.“She wouldn’t just let the door be shut: She’s going to do something,” the director, Filippo Meneghetti, recalled.He tweaked the script on set to suit his star’s temperament, and you can see why: Sukowa, 71, has played a lot of headstrong women in her 40-year career, starting with an ambitious, social-climbing singer-slash-tart in her breakthrough, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s biting satire “Lola” (1982). Some of the German actress’s signature parts have included a trilogy of sorts about passionate real-life intellectuals: the socialist activist and theoretician Rosa Luxemburg in the movie of the same name, the polymathic 12th-century nun Hildegard von Bingen in “Vision,” and the titular formidable political philosopher in “Hannah Arendt” (all from the director Margarethe von Trotta).In “Two of Us” — which has just been nominated for a Golden Globe in the foreign language category and opened Friday in theaters and on virtual cinemas — Sukowa’s Nina must jump into action when her longtime relationship with Madeleine (the French stage veteran Martine Chevallier), as comfortable as it is matter-of-factly sensual, is upended by a sudden event.Martine Chevallier and Sukowa in a scene from the drama “Two of Us.”Credit…Magnolia PicturesOlder lesbians facing illness, and having to come out to family under duress? Producers did not rush to open their checkbooks.“He could have had financing for his script in two years, probably, if he had taken some young, beautiful, sexy actresses,” Sukowa said over Zoom. “But he had made up his mind about Martine and me.”Meneghetti needed five years to rustle up the money but he would not budge on the casting.“I wanted to shoot a story about aging characters and I wanted to be honest with that,” the director said. “That’s why it was impossible for me to have actresses that have had surgery or whatever. They are natural, both of them, and they are beautiful, both of them. Every wrinkle is an emotion, tells a story.”Besides, he grew up loving cinema and Sukowa’s work: “Sooner or later, you will see her and she will astound you.”Sukowa as a social climbing singer in Fassbinder’s “Lola.”Credit…Criterion CollectionSukowa has the charisma and skills to carry movies — and indeed her surface appeal is immediate. She possesses the traditional attributes of an old-fashioned movie star: a piercing stare, high cheekbones, a blond mane. A close-up of that hair, in fact, opens the Fassbinder film. Yet she was not interested in capitalizing on those assets.“After ‘Lola’ I was offered a lot of these roles, but I turned them down mostly,” Sukowa said in lightly accented English by video from her Brooklyn home — she moved to the United States in the early 1990s. “I didn’t want to get into the beauty and, you know, sexy. Today I think maybe I should have done something, it would have been fun to see myself like that.”Her résumé does include a couple of femmes fatales, most notably in Lars von Trier’s stylish thriller “Europa” (1992), but Sukowa is most closely associated with von Trotta — they have collaborated seven times, going back to “Marianne and Juliane” in 1982. A scene from “Rosa Luxemburg,” one of a loose trilogy of films in which Sukowa plays a passionate intellectual.Credit…Criterion Collection“She is so intelligent, and a hard worker,” von Trotta wrote in an email. “She is preparing as much as I do with the research. In ‘Rosa Luxemburg’ I had taken a certain speech against the war of 1914. Then she showed me another speech she liked better, and indeed it was the more powerful one. I would have been an idiot not to take hers.”Sukowa also has a knack for handling one of acting’s toughest challenges. “For me she is the only German actress able to show me her moments of thinking without words,” von Trotta said.The trick, it seems, is to not have one.“I didn’t act thinking, I just thought,” Sukowa said of her performance as Arendt, known for her redoubtable intellect. “I was thinking of things that she might have thought — and I read a lot about her.” Her preparation even included hiring a professor at Columbia University as a tutor. The idea is that all the advance work will become so ingrained that instinct takes over during the shoot.“I always say to young actors, ‘You don’t have to make a lot of mimics,’ ” Sukowa said. “It’s almost like a lake that has no waves on it: You can look at the bottom and see the stones or whatever is in there.”Reviewing “Hannah Arendt” for The New York Times, A.O. Scott wrote that she captured her subject’s “fearsome cerebral power, as well as her warmth and, above all, the essential, unappeasable curiosity that drove her.”This juggling act is at the heart of the role for which many American viewers may know her: Katarina Jones, the operator of a time-traveling device on the Syfy series “12 Monkeys.”The co-creator Terry Matalas recalled seeing hundreds of performers for the part, none of them quite right. “There needed to be not just the erudite scientist but also a little bit of a maternal instinct, and all that had to be under this glaze of a cold exterior,” he said in a video call. “I kept describing what I was missing from these auditions to our director and he was like, ‘It sounds like you’re describing Barbara Sukowa.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, but she’s never going to read for this.’ One week later, we got an audition that she did on her iPhone. Within six seconds of watching, I knew it was her.”The actress as the operator of a time-traveling device in the series “12 Monkeys.”Credit…Ben Mark Holzberg/Syfy, NBCUniversal, via Getty ImagesStill, while busy — she recently shot an episode of the M. Night Shyamalan series “Servant” and is scheduled to soon start the Mary Harron biopic “Dali Land,” playing Gala, the wife of Ben Kingsley’s Salvador Dalí — Sukowa remains somewhat hidden in plain sight. Maybe it’s because she has never been much of a careerist and has often gone on creative tangents.“Lola,” in which she delivers a fiery cabaret-punk rendition of the German tango “Capri-Fischer,” sowed the seeds of a steady singing career. After seeing the movie, the Schoenberg Ensemble asked her to perform the song cycle “Pierrot Lunaire” with it; she became one of that exacting piece’s foremost interpreters, and an in-demand narrator classical pieces. And since 1998, she has been fronting the art-rock band the X-Patsys, which she created with the artists Robert Longo (her husband at the time) and Jon Kessler.“I had a dream that Barbara had cowboy boots and a kind of western outfit and her hair, in that beautiful Barbara way, had lights behind her, and she was singing country music,” Kessler said in a video chat. “I told Barbara and Robert about it at the next dinner that we had. We kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Why don’t we try it?’ ”Next thing they knew, they were rehearsing Patsy Cline songs pared down to the two or three chords Kessler and Longo knew how to play. “I didn’t know who Patsy Cline was, I didn’t know who Dolly Parton was,” Sukowa said, laughing.The X-Patsys playing a show in Paris.Credit…Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty ImagesThe X-Patsys’ repertoire eventually grew to encompass standards and blues, performed in a highly dramatic manner halfway between noise rock and German art song, with Sukowa as a commanding siren.“I have to admit I made it a bit of a character in the X-Patsys,” Sukowa said when asked if it was hard to forgo the protection of a made-up persona.She is ready for a new challenge, though. “I would really like to go from there to being even more myself,” she continued. “I think I could do that now.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

    • 63 Shares129 Views

      in Television

      Getting to Know You, Again

      by

      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }At HomeExplore: A Cubist CollageFollow: Cooking AdviceVisit: Famous Old HomesLearn: About the VaccineAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyGetting to Know You, AgainThe pandemic has sent many people back to their parents’ homes, giving both generations new insight and a chance at a different kind of relationship.Before the pandemic, the comedian Nikki Glaser, left, pitched a show about moving back in with her parents, E.J. and Julie Glaser, as an adult. The pandemic made what seemed like an unlikely scenario into a reality.   Credit…Whitney Curtis for The New York TimesFeb. 5, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ETPatricia Mitchell was newly widowed, still grieving and adjusting to living alone after 50 years of marriage, when her daughter, Emily Mitchell-Marell, called last March. It was the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns. Ms. Mitchell-Marell had recently given birth to a baby girl. She also had a 4-year-old son, and the schools in Brooklyn, where she lives, had been closed.Ms. Mitchell, a 74-year-old retired family therapist, heard the stress and panic in her daughter’s voice. “Having a baby, a job, a son and a pandemic was completely overwhelming to her,” she said. “Emily asked to come here.”And so, in the kind of surprising life upheaval the pandemic has made almost commonplace, Ms. Mitchell’s youngest daughter, her son-in-law and two grandchildren moved into her rambling old house outside Woodstock, N.Y. Eleven months later, the family is still there, eating dinner together every night and amazed to be doing so.“I have not spent this kind of time with Emily in 20 years,” Ms. Mitchell said. Her tone was that of someone who had received a complicated gift.For Patricia Mitchell, living with her granddaughter, Vera, has been “a real treat.”Credit…Tony Cenicola/The New York TimesLast July, a remarkable survey by the Pew Research Center found that more than half of people between the ages of 18 and 29 were living with their parents. Not since the Great Depression had so many adult children dwelled at home. It wasn’t only young adults, either. Job losses, school closings or other pandemic-induced reasons have driven many older children like Ms. Mitchell-Marell, who is 40, back to the nest.Because the young dominate the public’s attention, and because they own the bully pulpit of social media, the demographic phenomenon has been told largely from their viewpoint. The consensus attitude was perhaps best expressed by the young woman who made a TikTok set to the tune of “New York” by Alicia Keys, describing her quarantine with her mom and dad in the ’burbs. Sample lyric: “My parents won’t let me use their car/My friends all live too far/Twenty-five minutes from Dallas, Dallas, DALL-ASSSSSS!!!!!!!!”But as a middle-aged woman named Randi Cohen, whose 30-year-old daughter moved home to Columbus, Ohio, last spring, said, in what sounded like mild aggrievement, “There is another side to all of this.” Ah, yes, the side that doesn’t express themselves on TikTok.Imagine you have dutifully raised your children and released them into the world, growing accustomed to infrequent visits around the holidays, and then suddenly they’re back, a decade or more later, sleeping in their old bedrooms and sacking the fridge. It’s the sort of whiplash plot Hollywood movies are built on. Yet for millions of parents during the pandemic, it became a reality.Whether it played as a domestic comedy or psychological thriller depends on individual family dynamics. But every parent-child relationship is, to varying degrees, an emotional minefield. Navigating it successfully only grows harder when the child living in your house is all grown up: How do you make a 30-year-old pick up his dirty laundry?Getting ReacquaintedPatricia Mitchell, far right, who was recently widowed, finds herself living with her daughter, Emily, her son-in-law, Ben, and her grandchildren, Maximus and Vera.Credit…Tony Cenicola/The New York TimesReflecting on her experience over the past year, Ms. Mitchell expressed both gratitude and fatigue. She’s had the chance to observe, up close, her daughter’s happy marriage and mature approach toward work and motherhood, which has been gratifying as a parent. Helping raise her granddaughter from birth has been “really a treat,” and a welcome distraction from her grief and loneliness. Her son-in-law became the man of the house, doing chores and repairs.But living in a crowded, active, child-centered household again at her age can be exhausting. “There’s more food shopping and dishes and cleaning and laundry,” Ms. Mitchell said. “The noise level. The house wakes up very early. The level of activity is a bit shocking to my system, if you want to know the truth.”Parents have had to make adjustments of all kinds, as they welcome back children whose lives may have diverged widely from their own, and of which they may have only a vague idea. Empty nesters, they’ve been plunged back into hands-on parenting and asked to fulfill seemingly exotic requests.“He has a trainer that he works with and this trainer also has a specific diet” for him, said Janet Schaffler, 65, about her 34-year-old son, Kyle, who lives in Manhattan and came home to Indianapolis for two months at the start of the pandemic, and then again for weekslong stretches. Ms. Schaffler, who handles the cooking and shopping, found herself running what amounted to an Equinox juice bar out of her kitchen.“Everything had to be weighed. It was high protein, no bad carbs,” she said. “I needed to go to Trader Joe’s to buy this, another supermarket for that,” on top of shopping and cooking for herself and her husband. “Making sure everyone had what they needed, I never had any rest.”Ms. Cohen discovered that her daughter, Hannah Berkeley Cohen, while living in Cuba as a freelance journalist and tour guide, had evidently became a gourmet, because back home in Ohio, she now objected to her parents’ more simple meals.“She comes in and she’s a foodie and she’s appalled by what we eat. We don’t spend an hour preparing food and adding sauces because that’s what she and her boyfriend do,” Ms. Cohen said. “We had some talks about, ‘This is how we live. If you want to make dinner for us, that’s lovely.’”Bill Vien, 58, welcomed his daughter and son, both in their 20s, back home to Vermont for several months last year. His daughter, Corinne, co-hosts, “Two Girls One Ghost,” apodcast about ghosts and the paranormal. Mr. Vien and his wife were asked to maintain complete silence — no talking, no TV, not even shoes on the hardwood floors — while she recorded for three hours twice a week.“My wife never lets laundry get ahead of her,” Mr. Vien said. “Of course, we have one of those washers and dryers that make a chime.”Diane Camara welcomed her son, Jared Alexander, back home after his theater tour was canceled.Credit…Tony Cenicola/The New York TimesFor Diane Camara, whose 25-year-old son, Jared Alexander, an actor and writer, moved back into her home in Stratford, Conn., after the show he was scheduled to perform in was canceled, the adjustment was more internal, one of perception.“When he came back, I went into mom mode. I was thinking to myself, ‘I’m taking care of you. What do you have to worry about, you’re just a kid,’” Ms. Camara, 50, said. “It took me a minute to realize, ‘No, he’s an adult. And he’s going through it just like I’m going through it. And in some ways worse than me. He’s the one displaced, he lost his tour.”A Gift of TimeIndeed, these were not like the carefree stays of a summer home from college. Nor were they brief visits with the pressure release valve of a known end date. The children returned during a year of health risks, economic ruin and social and political upheaval, and with their own careers and adult responsibilities to manage through a global pandemic that has stretched on without end.But once the shock of events wore off and everyone found a routine, many parents said they were brought closer to their grown children. For the first time in years, and with a different feeling, there were family dinners, game nights, watching TV together, exchanging ideas as mature adults.“We drink a glass of wine and talk. We sit and watch movies,” Ms. Cohen, whose daughter remains at home, said. “We’ve never done that before. She can be a girlie girl, so she does my nails. It is lovely spending time with her.”Ms. Camara and Mr. Alexander in the garden they planted together last summer.Credit…Jared AlexanderLast summer, Ms. Camara and her son planted a flower garden in her backyard, the first garden for both of them. “We just got out there. We worked together as a team really well,” Ms. Camara said.A reluctant gardener initially, Mr. Alexander said watering the flowers and watching them slowly grow became a way to not only bond with his mother but come to terms with his interrupted life. He wrote an essay about the experience for a website.“It helped me adjust,” he said. “This isn’t going to be two weeks, two months. It’s going to be awhile. It wound up turning into something special.”There was, for parents, the added marvel of really seeing who their children had become as adults. Back under the same roof, they had a window into their children’s work and social lives and relationships.Leroy Rutherford has watched his daughter, Chrissy, start a business while back home. “That was nice seeing her start up something of her own,” he said.Credit…Tony Cenicola/The New York TimesLeroy Rutherford, 72, watched his daughter, Chrissy Rutherford, start a brand consultancy out of her childhood bedroom in Bedford, N.Y., where she’s been staying since giving up her apartment in Manhattan last April. He may complain about the dirty dishes Ms. Rutherford leaves in the sink, but he admires her work ethic. “She gets up from 8 in the morning and starts working. And 7 or 8 at night, she’s still on her phone or her computer,” Mr. Rutherford said. “That was nice seeing her start up something of her own.”Ms. Schaffler, the mother in Indianapolis, concurred. “You always think they’re never going to be able to grow up and cope by themselves,” she said. “Well, he can and he has. Just listening to him on his work calls. Not eavesdropping but just listening. He’s sounding just like his dad now. I could appreciate and be quite proud of that.”More than anything, there was time. Precious, unexpected time. In the summer months, Mr. Vien, his wife and two children would stop working each day and have lunch together on the deck. He got to watch his son and daughter, four years apart and usually living on opposite coasts, develop a tighter relationship over their stay. His daughter had gone off to college in California at 17 and stayed there during breaks to do internships, and Mr. Vien and his wife had felt time with her had been “stolen.” The pandemic gave it back.Shannon Holtzman, whose grown daughters, Carolyn and Larkin, both returned home to New Orleans for several months (Carolyn remains there), echoed the sentiment. “I regret the pandemic and wish it had never happened,” Ms. Holtzman said. “But for us, this has been a gift. We’ll likely never have this time again.”She marveled aloud, “This was the first birthday of mine where I had both daughters home since 2004.”The Stuff of Comedy“I thought this would destroy us,” said Nikki Glaser of moving back in with her parents, E.J. and Julie Glaser. The opposite has been true.Credit…Whitney Curtis for The New York TimesIf there could be a poster family for quarantining together during the pandemic, it would be the Glasers — that is, Nikki Glaser, a 36-year-old stand-up comedian and actress, and her parents, E.J. and Julie Glaser. When the pandemic struck, Ms. Glaser was in Los Angeles on a work trip. She had invited her parents along, and so she decided not to return to her New York apartment but to go back with them to her childhood home, in St. Louis. As the pandemic grew worse and her comedy gigs and other projects were canceled, she stayed. “I thought this would destroy us, me living there for 10 months,” she said. “But I didn’t want to leave.”Ms. Glaser has turned being back in her Midwestern childhood home as a single woman and famous person into an extended bit. In TV interviews, like one with Conan O’Brien last May, she appeared on Zoom from her father’s home office. When she guest-hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live!, in July, she booked her parents as the house band, cutting to them in their living room (Mr. Glaser plays acoustic guitar and Mrs. Glaser sings). A show Ms. Glaser had been writing before the pandemic, in which she gets canceled by the internet and has to move back home to St. Louis — “Which used to be some, like, kind of sci-fi thing,” she told Mr. O’Brien — became her lived experience. Meanwhile, her parents have become minor celebrities through their appearances on TV and on her social media channels.“I have 16,000 followers on Instagram,” Mr. Glaser said.His wife chimed in, “He had two before this.”More important, the couple have reconnected with their daughter, who for years saw her family infrequently as she built her comedy career on the coasts. “I’ve tried to get her to sing with me ever since she was a small child,” Mr. Glaser said. “She started learning guitar and we played and sang together a lot during the last few months.”After 10 months living with her parents, Ms. Glaser recently moved out and rented her own apartment again — in St. Louis. Nikki Glaser in a stand-up performance.Credit…Ben Vogelsang“I always argued that it was for the best,” Ms. Glaser said about choosing to live away from home. “This year has made me reflect upon what actually makes me happy. I love my family and I love being around them.”Shifting RelationshipsAs the pandemic stretches on, some parents, including Ms. Mitchell, continue to house their grown children. Her newborn granddaughter is nearly one, and she and Ms. Mitchell-Marell are closer than ever. In fact, Ms. Mitchell-Marell and her husband are considering relocating to the Hudson Valley. “I do want to be near her now in a way that wasn’t as important to me,” Ms. Mitchell-Marell said. “And I don’t want to separate her and my baby.”Said Ms. Mitchell, “They wouldn’t have come back without the pandemic. I do think they’re going to find a place in the valley. And be nearby. And that will be very great.” Other parents are empty nesters again.Marilyn LaMonica, 76 and a psychoanalyst, welcomed her 48-year-old son, daughter-in-law and 5-year-old grandson into the Brooklyn house she shares with her husband for three months last spring.At first, to be together seemed like a fantasy fulfilled, a return to the large Italian family of her childhood. But between cooking for five people three times a day, worrying about her loved ones getting the virus and balancing the competing needs of everyone in the house, the experience was something more complicated. Ms. LaMonica called those months “a blur” and “a bundle of mixed feelings,” summing up how other parents said they felt.And yet, when it was over, and her son and his family returned to their Manhattan apartment, Ms. LaMonica admitted to a sense of sadness, as if she were letting her child go all over again.“It’s not rational,” she said. “But I felt a very deep sense of loss.”For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in Television

      Renee Zellweger to Make TV Debut Through Crime Series 'The Thing About Pam'

      by

      WENN/Adriana M. Barraza

      Based on the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria, this true-crime drama has ‘House of Lies’ writer Jessika Borsiczky handling its adaptation into a limited series for NBC.

      Feb 5, 2021
      AceShowbiz – Oscar winner Renee Zellweger is to make her broadcast TV debut as the star of a true-crime drama that is based on the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria. The “Judy” star will headline and executive produce “The Thing About Pam” for NBC.
      The stranger-than-fiction story, which featured on U.S. news show “Dateline NBC”, has been adapted for TV by “House of Lies” writer Jessika Borsiczky. Of the project, she said, “As someone who hasn’t missed an episode of ‘Dateline’ in 10 years, what immediately stood out to me about Pam from other true-crime stories is that while on its surface it has all the twists and turns of a thrilling whodunit murder mystery, it’s really a character story at its heart that reflects in a profound way the American landscape back to us.”
      Faria’s husband, Russ, was convicted of his wife’s murder but maintained he did not kill her. The ruling against him was later overturned. Betsy’s murder remains unsolved, but the case exposed a diabolical scheme involving Pam Hupp, the role Zellweger will play on TV, who is currently serving a life sentence for the 2016 murder of Louis Gumpenberger. Investigators believe Hupp murdered Gumpenberger as part of a plot to implicate Russ Faria in the murder of his wife.

        See also…

      “We see this opportunity to fuel viewers’ appetites for strong and compelling stories,” executive producer Jason Blum said. “This opportunity to build a powerful, scripted franchise and work with the incomparable Renee Zellweger in her first starring role on broadcast TV, with a writer as gifted as Jessika Borsiczky and adapting material from the treasure troves of Dateline in partnership with our friends at NBC, is unparalleled. I couldn’t be more proud of the Blumhouse team for bringing it to fruition.”
      Chairman of NBCUniversal’s entertainment content, Susan Rovner, additionally stated, “When you think about what qualifies something as a ‘must watch,’ I’m not sure you could do any better than the undeniable trifecta of Renee Zellweger, Blumhouse and ‘Dateline’. The twists and turns of this saga are truly stranger than fiction, and in the hands of this incredibly talented artistic team, this series will bring a completely new perspective to a story that has already captivated millions.”
      “As NBC News Studios continues to build upon an impressive track record only a year into our launch, we could not be more proud to work with this extraordinary team of collaborators on our first foray into scripted,” added NBC News president Noah Oppenheim.

      You can share this post!

      Next article
      Malik Beasley’s Ex Seemingly Shades Larsa Pippen in New Rap Video More

    • 125 Shares119 Views

      in Television

      Trevor Noah: Marjorie Taylor Greene Deleted Her Browser History IRL

      by

      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyBest of Late NightTrevor Noah: Marjorie Taylor Greene Deleted Her Browser History IRLThe congresswoman disavowed some of her outlandish statements. But Noah says she’s “so crazy that her saying that 9/11 happened makes me go, ‘Wait, did it?’”“Looks like someone started listening to the reasonable voices in her head,” Trevor Noah said after Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said she regretted endorsing QAnon conspiracy theories.Credit…Comedy CentralFeb. 5, 2021, 2:42 a.m. ETWelcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. We’re all stuck at home at the moment, so here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.Greene House EffectHouse Democrats voted on Thursday to strip Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments, while House Republicans chose to stick by her after she expressed remorse for past comments about 9/11 and school shootings. She blamed her past support for QAnon on misinformation that she found on the internet.“Wow, I’ve never seen someone try to delete their browser history in real life,” Trevor Noah remarked.“Yes, people: Marjorie Taylor Greene has been kicked off her committees. But if you think about it, this is a pretty sweet deal for Greene. Basically, her punishment for acting insane was to do less work for the same amount of money.” — TREVOR NOAH“But if she’s not in charge of education, who’s going to tell all those students that there never really was a shooting?” — STEPHEN COLBERT“And, honestly, I think kicking her off these committees could actually backfire. The last thing you want to do with a crazy person is give them time to be crazy. That’s why they should put her on all the committees — then you’ll never hear from her again.” — TREVOR NOAH“Online, Greene also has endorsed the idea of executing Democratic leaders. Kind of a bad look when you’re OK with your new co-workers getting murdered: ‘Hey guys, I cannot wait to join the team. Tell you what, I’m going to cut your hamstring and give you a 30-minute head start before I hunt you with a crossbow.’” — STEPHEN COLBERT“Looks like someone started listening to the reasonable voices in her head. Although, this woman is so crazy that her saying that 9/11 happened makes me go, ‘Wait, did it?’” — TREVOR NOAH“You know what? This may come as a surprise to you, but those of us who watched those buildings burn with our bare eyes here in the New York City area are not that impressed with your willingness to admit that it happened. I believe we as a nation promised to ‘always remember’ it happened. What’s her bumper sticker say, ‘9/11 — oops, I forgot’”?— STEPHEN COLBERT“All right, well, at least now we know 9/11 happened. Can you imagine having to go in front of the House of Representatives to say 9/11 happened? Yeah, we know. We know it happened. You’re the crazy one, not us.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Oh, my God, thank you, it is so big of you to admit that. What else would you like to clarify? ‘[Imitating Greene] I would also like to make clear that “Inception” is just a movie, “RoboCop” is not real, and the giant glowing orb in the sky is, in fact, the moon and not a secret sky bank where Bill Gates keeps all his gold bars.’” — SETH MEYERS“But, hey, I’m glad that she’s come around to the standard Republican belief that school shootings are real and that nothing should be done to stop them.” — TREVOR NOAH“But, yes, you see, it’s all Facebook’s fault for ‘allowing’ her to believe in those things. So don’t blame her — blame Mark Zuckerberg, with his social media lies and his space lasers.” — TREVOR NOAH“That’s right, the woman who started impeachment proceedings against Joe Biden the day he took office is calling for unity now. The congresswoman who wants to execute Nancy Pelosi is right. We need to come together, and the media is just as guilty as QAnon! That’s like saying Jell-O is just as guilty as Bill Cosby.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“The worst part of this, she has still not been reprimanded in any official way by fellow Republicans in the House. In fact, they gave her a standing ovation yesterday. Some of them, not all of them. Some of them didn’t want to stand up for fear they could be targeted by Jewish space lasers.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Now, look, man, Marjorie Taylor Greene isn’t the first person to believe things that she read on the internet. But her defense isn’t really reassuring because, basically, what she’s saying is, ‘Yes, up until now, I believed that school shootings were fake, 9/11 didn’t happen and that Jewish space lasers blew up California. But that’s only because I am incapable of separating fantasy from reality. So let’s do the right thing and let me go back to making laws.” — TREVOR NOAHThe Punchiest Punchlines (You Can’t Fire Me, I Quit Edition)“After the Screen Actors Guild criticized Trump last month, today he sent a letter saying that he’s quitting the union. Trump’s out of work and just quit his union — even worse, now if he wants medical coverage, he’s got to sign up for Obamacare.” — JIMMY FALLON“He sent them a scathingly stupid letter that begins, ‘I write to you regarding the so-called disciplinary committee hearing aimed at revoking my union membership. Who cares?’ Oh, I know! The guy who took the time to write a letter, who also has skin so thin it makes phyllo dough like Kevlar?” — STEPHEN COLBERT“So he’s now out of the actors’ union. That’s too bad — I was positive he was going to be the next James Bond.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Meanwhile, Melania heard and was like, ‘Um, Donald, while we’re on the subject of leaving unions.’” — JIMMY FALLON“One day you’re the most powerful man on earth, the next you’re bragging about your one line in ‘Home Alone 2.’” — JIMMY FALLONThe Bits Worth WatchingTom Brady participated in a special pre-Super Bowl, all-Brady edition of Mean Tweets.Also, Check This OutThe showrunners of “Superstore” felt a responsibility to show the pandemic’s impact on retail employees.Credit…Trae Patton/NBCTelevision shows now in production are trying to predict whether viewers will want to see the reality of the pandemic reflected onscreen, or if they’d prefer a distraction instead.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

    • 188 Shares99 Views

      in Television

      Nick Cannon Is Back to Host 'Wild 'N Out' After Previously Fired Over Anti-Semitic Remarks

      by

      WENN/Adriana M. Barraza

      Back in July 2020, ViacomCBS announced that it cut ties with ‘The Masked Singer’ host back after he blasted white people in an episode of his podcast ‘Cannon’s Class’.

      Feb 5, 2021
      AceShowbiz – Nick Cannon is heading back to “Wild ‘N Out” as a host after previously being fired from the show over his anti-semitic remarks. The decision to have him back arrives after the TV host manages to reestablish his relationship with ViacomCBS.
      “Nick has not only apologized and taken responsibility for his comments, but he has also worked to educate himself and others through engagement with Jewish leaders and on his platforms,” an MTV Entertainment Group spokesperson told Entertainment Tonight. “Those efforts are of the utmost importance and that’s why we have invited him to rejoin our team.”
      Nick’s rep, meanwhile, said that he is unavailable to give a comment on the matter since he is currently quarantining after testing positive for COVID-19.
      ViacomCBS announced that it cut ties with “The Masked Singer” host back in July 2020 after he blasted white people in an episode of his podcast “Cannon’s Class”. “ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism,” it shared in a statement. “We have spoken to Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast ‘Cannon’s Class’ on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.”

        See also…

      “While we support ongoing education and dialogue in the fight against bigotry, we are deeply troubled that Nick has failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism, and we are terminating our relationship with him. We are committed to doing better in our response to incidents of anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry. ViacomCBS will have further announcements on our efforts to combat hate of all kinds,” so the statement continued.
      In the controversial episode, Nick said, “The people that don’t have [melanin] are a little less. They may not have had the compassion when they were sent to the mountains of Caucasus when they didn’t have the power of the sun.” Additionally, Nick went on calling them “savages” and “barbaric,” saying, “They’re acting as animals so they’re the ones that are actually closer to animals. They’re the ones that are actually the true savages.”
      Following the backlash, Nick issued a lengthy apology. “First and foremost I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers for the hurtful and divisive words that came out of my mouth during my interview with Richard Griffin,” he wrote. “They reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people and I feel ashamed of the uninformed and naïve place that these words came from. The video of this interview has since been removed.”
      The ex-husband of Mariah Carey added that there “is so much I have yet to learn.” He continued that “minor history lesson over the past few days and to say that it is eye-opening would be a vast understatement.”

      You can share this post!

      Next article
      Emma Corrin’s Casting Opposite Harry Styles Hypes Up Fans’ Expectation for ‘My Policeman’

      Related Posts More