Friday 23 Lifestyle | Features Friday, September 4, 2020

‘Thrones’ creators join ‘Star Wars’ director for Netflix series

he creators of “Game of Thrones” will team up with “Star Wars” director Rian Johnson and Brad Pitt for an Tambitious new Chinese sci-fi adaptation, Netflix an- nounced Tuesday. Liu Cixin’s bestselling book trilogy “The Three-Body Problem,” which tells the epic story of human- ity’s first contact with an alien civilization, will become an in- ternational series for the streaming giant. “Liu Cixin’s trilogy is the most ambitious science-fiction series we’ve read, taking readers on a journey from the 1960s until the end of time, from life on our pale blue dot to the distant fringes of the uni- verse,” “Thrones” duo David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, who will co-write, said in a statement. They will be joined as executive producers by Rian Johnson, who oversaw 2017’s critically acclaimed “Star Wars” movie “The Last Jedi,” as well as Brad Pitt’s Plan B A few tourists visit the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum. One of the tour guides walks by Ernest Hemingway’s writing studio, Entertainment company. Prolific Chinese science fiction au- an annex of the late author’s Home and Museum. thor Liu said the apocalyptic series “transcends time and the confines of nations, cultures and races; one that com- square to watch the sunset. “It was so busy pels us to consider the fate of humankind as a whole.” It you could hardly walk through the crowd, imagines an alternate history in which a female Chinese as- and now there’s nobody here,” said Jack Re- trophysicist caught up in the Cultural Revolution makes ichenbach, a 67-year-old local who lost his contact with an alien civilization, prompting global fears of job during the pandemic and who is trying an invasion. Fans include former president Barack Obama, to sell some watercolors of the sea view. who once said the “wildly imaginative” trilogy made “my “Everything is pretty bad,” he said. day-to-day problems with Congress seem fairly petty-not For the first time in years, tourists do not something to worry about. Aliens are about to invade!” An- have to elbow their way through the throng other of Liu’s works, “The Wandering Earth,” was given the or line up to have their snapshot taken in big-screen treatment last year-billed as China’s first space- front of the buoy marking the southernmost age blockbuster, it became one of the country’s highest point of the mainland United States. Among grossing movies with over $690 million domestically. those waiting for the sun to go down was “Thrones” showrunners Benioff and Weiss signed a multi- New Yorker Carol D, 65, a frequent visitor year deal with Netflix last August to write, produce and di- to Key West who asked an AFP reporter rect new series and films. Tuesday’s announcement is the what sites she had visited. When the re- first confirmed project to emerge from that deal, which was porter replied “Hemingway house”, Carol reportedly worth a nine-figure sum and followed an intense noted she did not know that place, but said bidding war between major studios. — AFP enthusiastically: “You gotta see the cat house!” “They’re amazing,” she said. —AFP A few tourists visit the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum.

ple said aim to “share impactful content that unlocks action.” Prince Harry and No financial terms were disclosed, but the deal is reported to be multi-year and exclusive to Netflix. The pair recently moved into a new family home in affluent Santa Barbara, after a stint in Meghan sign nearby Los Angeles saw them become embroiled in a legal bat- tle with paparazzi over photos taken of their son Archie. Their new neighbors include powerful entertainment industry figures sprawling Netflix deal including Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres. The couple’s ambitions to produce in Hollywood had long been rumored, with reports of meetings taking place in recent rince Harry and Meghan Markle officially launched their weeks with Disney, Apple and NBCUniversal. Harry recently new Hollywood careers Wednesday, signing a deal with appeared in Paralympics documentary film “Rising Phoenix,” PNetflix to produce “impactful” films and series for the while Markle narrated a wildlife documentary for Disney. Spe- streaming giant. The couple-who quit the British royal family cific details of other projects have not yet been released, but and moved to California this year-already have multiple projects the couple is expected to produce scripted series and feature in development, although former “Suits” star Markle has no films as well as children’s programming. plans to return to acting. “Through our work with diverse com- Markle and Harry have spoken of their desire “to do some- munities and their environments, to shining a light on people thing of meaning, to do something that matters,” in California, and causes around the world, our focus will be on creating con- where they are launching a wide-ranging non-profit organiza- tent that informs but also gives hope,” the Duke and Duchess of tion named Archewell. Their Netflix project is expected to focus Sussex said in a statement to AFP. “As new parents, making in- on the same issues as Archewell. The couple have worked with spirational family programming is also important to us, as is a charity to hand out meals to chronically ill people in Los An- In this file photo Britain’s Prince Harry and his fiancÈe US actress powerful storytelling through a truthful and relatable lens.” geles, and Markle-whose mother is black-spoke out in June Meghan Markle pose for a photograph in the Sunken Garden at A nature documentary series and an animated series focused after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African American Kensington Palace in west London, following the announcement of on inspiring women are among the first projects, which the cou- killed in police custody. — AFP their engagement. — AFP