Music MONDAY, APRIL 12, 2021 FFeatureseatures adoring nasally, the belovedyoungnerds— With Shuster,shewouldinvent Live” aculturalphenomenon. who helpedmake“SaturdayNight famous for.(AP) John Hughes and topping—theteencomedies later praisedforanticipating— son butwaslovedbycriticsand “Square Pegs”lastedjustonesea- school studenttryingtofi an earlyroleasafi starring centering onteen-agegirlsand Pegs” wasthenararesitcom alone speaksvolumes.” you lookat‘SquarePegs,’thetitle with love.Sheknewthatworld.If and Rosiehandledthosecharacters told TheAssociatedPress.“She she knewthatworld,”Zweibel own series“SquarePegs.” an outsiderinhighschoolforher own acknowledgedbackgroundas funny Iforgottolaugh.” catchphrases asLisa’s,“That’sso Murray goofball Gilda Radner Dan Aykroyd Miller Alan Zweibel,MarilynSuzanne that included among ateamofgiftedwriters for fi cause ofdeath. did notimmediatelyknowthe member atChapmanUniversity, fi friend California her homein 74. “Square Pegs,”hasdied.Shewas and latercreatedthecultsitcom staff of“SaturdayNightLive” macabre whowasontheoriginal with atasteforsweetnessandthe groundbreaking comedywriter Woerthersee his secondhomenear has died.Hewas92. published indozens ofcountries, selling book“Megatrends”was John Naisbitt techa, whoco-wrotethesongandexecutiveproducedmusicin climax wasagamble. it doesn’texactlytakeitselfseriously.Ploppingasincereballadatthe tor DavidDobkin’slovingspoofoftheEurovisioncontestknowsthat through thisthing.” people somuch.Peoplebecameoptimisticthatwewouldgetsomehow the localentrepreneurbehindcampaign.“Itliftedspiritsof ceremony, whichstartsat2a.m.localtime. ing openinglateinthedayaftersoresidentscanstayuptowatch (as aredcarpet)fortheOscarsonApril25.Húsavíkisevenconsider- games. Onecouncilmemberisgearinguptopaintthemainstreetred ment home,inchurchandblastedovertheloudspeakersbeforesoccer de factolocalanthem. a grassrootsOscarcampaignonbehalfofthesongandadopteditas the pastyear,peopleofHúsavík,atownonly2,300,havestaged after —especiallyconsideringthefactthey’veyettovisit.Andin lad wouldbecometothepeopleofsmallIcelandictownit’snamed Story ofFireSaga.”Buttheyhadnoideajusthowsignifi otherwise sillyWillFerrellmovie“EurovisionSongContest:The T lm producerandafellowfaculty BERLIN: NEW YORK: Small IcelandictownralliesbehindOscar-nominated song Premiering in1982,“Square “If youlooklookedatthenerds, Beatts wouldlaterdrawuponher Starting in1975andrunning Beatts diedWednesdayat Naisbitt diedpeacefully at “We werealittleworriedaboutgettingtothatone,”saidSavanKo- The songitselfwasabitofwildcard.Anyonewhohasseendirec- “It’s suchabeautifulsongaboutourtown,”saidÖrlygurÖrlygsson, Children aretaughtitinschool.It’sbeensungatthelocalretire- ve seasons,Beattswas town)” knewthattheywantedittobeanemotionalcorethe he writersbehindtheOscar-nominatedsong“Husavik(MyHome- Rona Edwards and suchcastmembersas Lisa Loopner Sarah JessicaParker Marvin Hamlisch ), andhelpcoinsuch Todd DiLaMuca ❑ The Americanauthor , accordingtoherclose West Hollywood, Rosie Shuster, in Anne Beatts and , whose1982best- would soonbecome ) andhigh-pantsed Austria rst-year high Chevy Chase Lake . Edwards,a (playedby t in. , hiswife, By LindseyBahr ( - , a Bill in education atage34toPresident appointed assistant secretaryof at KodakandIBM, andhewas his career,hewas an executive up in 1929, in agency APA. reported bytheAustriannews His deathonThursdaywasearlier Doris communists, “Blacksavages”and“moffi just turnedintowarriorsbutbrainwashedbelieving eling. Whilesufferingunderthehotsun,they’renot at theordersofSergeantBrand(HiltonPelser),isgru- and theperceivedthreatofcommunism.Thetraining, going?” replies, “Areyousure?Doknowwherewe’re offers himadrink.WhenNicholasdeclines,Stassen be-friend (Stassen,playedbyRyandeVilliersoffers) magazine for“ammunition.”Onthetrain,asoon-to- his lifebeforehand;fatherhandshimagirlie slowly overthegrasslands.Weonlybrieflyglimpse that willtakeNicholastothebarracksasitsnakes ominous tone.Thecameratrailsoverheadthetrain tactile andvivid.ThescorebyBraamduToitsetsan ematographer JamieD.Ramsayisgrittilyintimate, ance, onethatseeshimasanenemy. Nicholas hasbeenconscriptedintoanarmyofintoler- South Africabutalsotomostanyotherplaceorera. fear, oppressionandnationalismendemicto1980s through thebarksofdrillsergeants,toanideology tive masculinity.There,youngmenareindoctrinated, the darkheartofapartheidandacauldrondestruc- lowing Nicholasintobasictraining,thefi a younggaymaninanunprogressivesociety.Infol- mand Friday,ismorethanacoming-of-agestoryabout ously closetoNicholas. basic training,it’sasifbulletsarealreadyfl ever-present threatofostracismandabuse.Inbrutal isn’t directedathimbutit’shurledallaround—an There, thefi of regulatedmilitaryserviceforwhitemalesover16. Luke Brummer)isconscriptedintothearmyaspart insider. heid, heisamemberoftherulingclass,buthe’sno white 18-year-old.Inthecountry’ssystemofapart- T Naisbitt wasbornonJan.15, In ‘Moffi They’re intrainingfortheborderwarwithAngola From thestart,imagerybyHermanusandcin- But “Moffi Shy, timidandcloseted,NicholasvanderSwart(Kai Glenwood, Utah. Naisbitt,saidonSaturday. “Moffi he maincharacterofOliverHermanus’shattering Variety Salt LakeCity e,” setin1981SouthAfrica,isahandsome, lm’s title—anAfrikaans’anti-gayslur e,” whichopenedintheatersandon-de- This imagereleasedbyIFCFilmsshowsKaiLukeBrummer,(center),inascenefrom‘Moffi cant thebal- By JakeCoyle Earlyin andgrew ‘Husavik liftedthespiritsofpeople’ Film the heartofmovie.” said. “Theydidn’tknowthattheywouldgetasongreallyspoketo kind ofinaroughpatchsoitwaseasytotapintothatemotion.” room,” Gsussaid.“IwasfacingsomerejectionatthetimeandI feeling andwhatshewouldhavewritteninherlonelyhourshotel Ferrell’s Lars.SwedishpopsingerMollySandénprovidedthevocals. ter, Sigrit,anemotionalshowstopper—theclimaxtoherjourneywith tor. Here,they’dbeentaskedwithgivingRachelMcAdams’scharac- fore, buttheyenjoyedtheprocessandbackforthwithdirec- e,’ brutalintolerancein’80sSA When themoviecameoutonNetfl “The originalthoughtwastohaveacomedicmoment,”Kotecha It’s effectivenessevenchangedthetrajectoryofscene. “What wereallywantedtodowaschannelwhatshe Neither hadeverspecifi and Max,“Feltlikethiswassomethingthatwecanrelateto.” Bang” and“GodIsaWoman,”FatMaxGsustohelp. ard Göransson,whohe’dcollaboratedwithonGrandehits“Bang Perry, enlistedwhathecallsthe“Swedishsongwritingmafi worked withArianaGrande,TheWeeknd,EllieGouldingandKaty felt wehadtoearnit.” David’s dreamwastohavethisemotionalmomentattheend.Buthe fi etsNaisbitt Beatts lm. “Theotheronesweresuperfunandfunnysongsup-tempo. Göransson wassoldatthementionofWillFerrell,butalsosaidhe Kotecha, aGrammy-nominatedsongwriterandproducerwhohas Intensely expressive, achinglysorrowful fi lm wadesinto es” areallto ying peril- ying elects tosenddirectlystreaming. on anyfi Sing,” “Uncharted”and“BulletTrain.” releases including“Morbius,”“WheretheCrawdads like “Spider-Man,”“Venom”and“Jumanji,”2022 rical runs.Thatincludesmoviesinpopularfranchises sively streamdomesticallyonNetfl the new streaminghometoSonyPictures’topreleasesin on Thursdayinamulti-yeardealthatwillmakeitthe NEW YORK: cally writtenasongformusicalfi In aworldofquicklyproliferatingstreamingservic- The agreementalsogivesNetfl Beginning nextyear,Sony’snewfi Three andahalfstarsoutoffour. intensely violentscenes.Runningtime:106minutes. Motion PictureAssociationofAmericabutcontains abides, longaftertheendofapartheid. has capturedameanmachineryatwork—onethatstill intensely expressive,achinglysorrowfulfourthfi in thebrutalpropagandaofapartheid,Hermanus,his van deMerwe,islikeaninsidejob.Byburrowingwith- laudable. Hisfi of-view onlymakesHermanus’missionallthemore acknowledged initiallyrecoilingfrom.Butthatpoint- thing thedirector—whoisgayandmixedracehas othering onlyexpands. and white—leftbroken,beatenordeadbyaheinous alone, andoursenseofthemanylives—bothBlack sexuality. Astimegoeson,Nicholasrealizeshe’snot how hehasbeenconditionedtofeelonlyguiltabouthis A singlefl Nicholas stays,toacertainextent,hiddenfromus,too. terior istheperformancebystrikingBrummerthat from anotherinthesamepredicament.Sosilentandin- cept forastolenglanceormomentofunderstanding Metal Jacket.” Life inthebarracksnodstoStanleyKubrick’s“Full ies inthedesertsuggestClaireDenis’“BeauTravail.” be “cured”bykillingthem.Someofthescenesbod- Emotional US “Moffi It’s anusualperspectiveforapartheidfi For Nicholas,itmeanskeepinghimselfhiddenex- . lmsthe e” anIFCFilmsrelease, is unratedbythe Netfl ashback tohislifebeforehand givesahintat ix afewmonthsintotheglobal the Naisbitt ChinaInstitute, a the riseof books, someofthem dealingwith lion copiesin57countries. future. Itsoldmorethan14mil- the presentinordertopredict Lives” wasaboutunderstanding New DirectionsTransformingOur John Kennedy Culver City, lm, adapted fromanovelbyAndréCarl ix furtherbeefedupitsfi Naisbitt published severalother His book“Megatrends:Ten Also: China

. California . Healsofounded ix afi ix aftertheirtheat- a” ofRick- lm be- lm lms willexclu- rst-look option rst-look -based studio lm catalog lm lm, some- happy thatHollywoodchosetodoitaswell.” those jokesaboutmagicalelves. Húsavík quicklybecameitsmostpassionatefans.Yes,evenwithall shutdowns lastJune,ithaditscriticsandsupporters,butthepeopleof the elfknife.(AP) fi dios dreamabout.Netfl Good MorningAmerica.It’sthekindofgrassrootspublicitythatstu- times onYouTubeandbeenfeaturedinTheNewYorkTimes cially theyoungfolksintown,wereheavilyinvolved.” we madeacampaignvideo,”Örlygssonsaid.“Alotofpeople,espe- year. Thetownspeopleimmediatelysprungtoaction. the Academy’sshortlistofpotentialoriginalsongnomineesearlierthis the “Eurovision”glowwasextendedwhen“Husavik”poppedupon of onethefi small hotel,openedaJajaDingDongcaféonterraceoutsideinhonor reason fortheirvisit.AlmostimmediatelyÖrlygsson,whoalsorunsa visitors whowereunabletotravelabroad.Manycitedthefi after themoviecameout,Húsavíkstartedseeinganuptickindomestic after COVID-19devastatedtheirmainindustry:Tourism.Andsometime set intheirlittlenortherncoastaltown,ittookonanextrasignifi lm foranexhibitioninthelocalmuseumasathankyou,including e.’ (AP) e.’ Although itwasalwaysabigdealtohavemajorNetfl “We liketomakefunofourselves,”Örlygssonsaid.arejust The video,AnÓskarforHúsavík,hasbeenviewedover70,000 “We decidedtodowhateverwecouldhelp.Wesetupawebsite, The songitselfbecameimmediatelypopularinthecountry,too.And without prejudice, andnottied to great foresight,he wasopenand decades. times ayearoverthe lastcouple traveling toChinaatleastfour lived in during hiscareer.TheNaisbitts many lecturesonfuturestudies transformation ofChinaandgave research institutionstudyingthe lm, “John wasnotonly amanwith day. (AP) ( character —todefend perpowers —accidentallyinthecaseofMcCarthy’s McCarthy and again thrustintosavingtheplanet.InNetfl Corden lomaniacal artifi about aregularwoman(McCarthy)joinedwithmega- November cameHBOMax’s“Superintelligence,” aged toputouttwomoviesduringthepandemic.Last and herhusband,fi Bobby Cannavale,JasonBateman LOS ANGELES: ing agreement,”saidNetfl to expandourrelationshipthroughthisforward-think- HBO Max. “Greyhound” toAppleTV+and“AmericanPickle” Vs. TheMachines”and“WishDragon.”Italsosent to Netfl disclosed. Duringthepandemic,Sonypreviouslysold ment betweenSonyandStarz.Financialtermsweren’t mount+. Pictures hasPeacockandParamountPara- has Disney+,WarnerBros.HBOMax,Universal a streamingserviceofitsown.TheWaltDisneyCo. Sony istheonlytraditionalHollywoodstudioswithout gone topremiumcablenetworks—isananomaly. es, thedeal—oncekindthatwouldhavetypically million. Out” sequelsinadealthatreportedlyexceeds$450 It alsorecentlyacquiredtherightstomultiple“Knives plans toreleasemorethanonefi ly expandingitsfi scape, thedeep-pocketedNetfl fi the US,butitalsoestablishesanewsourceoffi slate ofbelovedfi ber. “Thisnotonlyallowsustobringtheirimpressive lms forNetfl Vienna “Sony Picturesisagreatpartnerandwearethrilled Wednesday’s dealreplacesalong-runningagree- In theincreasinglycompetitivestreamingland- lm’s sillierrecurringsongstocapitalizeonthemoment. ). Thistime,in“ThunderForce,”McCarthyis lm ix KevinHart’s“Fatherhood,”“TheMitchells buthadbeen Octavia Spencer cial intelligence(voicedby ix movieloversworldwide.” Against theodds, ix isevendonatingsomeofthepropsfrom ❑ lmmaker lm franchisesandnewIPtoNetfl lm library.Thestreaming service Chicago ix global fi Ben Falcone, playwomengivensu- ix hasbeenaggressive- mind,” human being,with asophisticated man, hewasakindandgentle publisher. after shewashisGermanlanguage wife, whomhemarriedin2000, any mainstreamthinking,”saidhis grandchildren. (AP) survived byfi fromsupervillains Melissa McCarthy lm aweekthisyear. “He wasnotonlyavisionary In additiontohiswife, heis ). ItdebutedFri- lm headScottStu- Doris Naisbitt haveman- ve childrenand12 ix fi ix James ix production rst run rst lm, ix in lm asthe said. cance cance