lifestyle THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2015

Music & Movies Tarantino says he won’t be intimidated by police boycotts

fter a week of backlash from police groups ments provoked outrage from a growing number the truth. I’m used to people misrepresenting me; threatening to boycott his upcoming film, of police groups that have called for the boycott of I’m used to being misunderstood. What I’d like to AQuentin Tarantino stood by his comments Tarantino’s December release “The Hateful Eight.” think is their attack against me is so vicious that about police brutality and said he wouldn’t be They include the National Association of Police they’re revealing themselves. They’re hiding in intimidated from voicing his opinion. Tarantino Organizations and local groups in New York, New plain sight.” Jamie Foxx, the star of his “Django told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday that law Jersey, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. Unchained,” has backed Tarantino. At the enforcement groups are trying to bully him. “Tarantino lives in a fantasy world,” Los Angeles Hollywood Film Awards, Foxx said: “Keep telling the “Instead of dealing with the problem of police bru- Police Chief Charlie Beck said Tuesday. “That’s how truth and don’t worry about none of the haters.” On tality in this country, better they single me out,” he makes his living. His movies are extremely vio- Tuesday, the Weinstein Co., the longtime distribu- Tarantino told the Times. lent but he doesn’t understand violence. He tor of Tarantino’s films including “Hateful Eight,” “And their message is very clear,” he continued. doesn’t understand the nature of the violence that said it supported Tarantino’s right to say what he “It’s to shut me down. It’s to discredit me. It is to police officers confront. Unfortunately he mistakes wants. “We don’t speak for Quentin,” the Weinstein intimidate me. It is to shut my mouth, and even lawful use of force for murder, and it’s not.” Co. said in a statement. “He can and should be more important than that, it is to send a message Tarantino told the Times “it feels lousy to have a allowed to speak for himself.” — AP out to any other prominent person that might feel bunch of police mouthpieces call me a cop hater. the need to join that side of the argument.” The I’m not a cop hater. That is a misrepresentation. In this Oct 24, 2015 file photo, director’s strong response signaled that he wasn’t That is slanderous. That is not how I feel.” director Quentin Tarantino, backing down from what he said last month at an “But you know, that’s their choice to do that to center, participates in a rally anti-police brutality rally Brooklyn. Tarantino said me,” the director added to the Times. “What can I to protest against police bru- he was “on the side of the murdered.” His com- do? I’m not taking back what I said. What I said was tality in New York. — AP ‘Spectre’ stirs, doesn’t shake old Bond formulas here to go when 53 years of action-scene set pieces The surveillance reference is a mostly shallow attempt at have exhausted seemingly every exotic corner of the political depth. But such self-aware conflicts between new WEarth? How much globe can a globe-trotter trot? The and old now constantly bounce throughout Bond films. The answer kicking off the latest James Bond film, “Spectre,” is a mythology, fearful of showing its age, is perpetually torn doozy. Beginning with the words “the dead are alive” across down and built back up again like an ever-rebooting super- the screen, director Sam Mendes opens on a long shot hero. Every gesture (and drink order) is a winking comment on through the Day of the Dead in Mexico City, tracking Bond 007 traditions; even the opening recalls the New Orleans (Daniel Craig), masked but unmissable in a skeleton costume, funeral march of “Live and Let Die.” When it works, it’s refresh- through the festive throngs. He ushers a woman (Stephanie ing; when it doesn’t, it’s merely repackaging. “Spectre,” script- Sigman) out of the masses and into her bed, only to disrobe ed by John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, feels more into a suit, step out the window and stride down the ledge. like the latter. For the first time, all of Craig’s reinvention hasn’t Finally spying his real prey, explosions follow, walls collapse carried Bond all that much further than where the spy always and the resulting chase spins into a helicopter careening over was - especially when it comes to the women that adorn a mobbed Zocalo Square. “Spectre.” It’s a sequence of such startling audacity (some 1,500 extra were used) and gorgeous black-on-sepia tones that a nagging Love interest desire to hit “rewind” persists through the rest of “Spectre.” First there’s Monica Belluci as the widow of the man Bond Handsome and riveting as it often is, the film never again kills in Mexico City. He sleeps with her after picking her up at reaches such heights. It’s not for lack of effort. Mendes, who the funeral. She’s quickly dispatched for Madeleine Swann helmed the last entry, the smash “Skyfall,” has raised the bar (Lea Seydoux), whose family connections bring Bond closer to on 007, pushing the budgets and the grandiosity in a bid to the elusive Oberhauser. Seydoux, the French actress of “Blue is not just reinvent the franchise but overwhelm it with eye- the Warmest Color,” gives the film a jolt, but the romance popping craft. “Spectre” is Craig’s fourth Bond movie and his between Swann and Bond is slight and the character is little muscular tenure has been defined not just by his full embodi- more than Bond’s usual love interest. That said, the seductive Actors Josh Hutcherson, Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth attend Lionsgate’s ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - ment of the character, but his overall stewardship. His ability Seydoux and the sinewy Craig make an attractive pair. When Part 2’ Hand and Footprint Ceremony at TCL Chinese Theatre. — AFP to attract top-notch talent, in front and behind the camera, they eventually arrive at a remote Sahara outpost, they could and to imbue the spy series with a seriousness of purpose really just stay there, handsomely smoldering in the dry heat reads in every frame. His Bond may still sip martinis, but he’s like a Hemingway couple. stone-cold sober. What’s missing most is the steely spine of Dench. The off- Teen fans await world premiere kilter menace of Waltz would seem perfectly suited for Digital surveillance “Spectre,” but his scenes pale in comparison with Javier Having ushered 007 through the Eva Green highs of Bardem’s Raoul Silva in “Skyfall.” Also with big shoes to fill is of final ‘Hunger Games’ movie “Casino Royale,” the overwrought lows of “Quantum of Solace” cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, stepping in for Roger and the climactic extravagance of “Skyfall,” “Spectre” finds Deakins. He surrounds the film with shadows and reflective eenage fans awaited the world premiere of the final ‘Dark architecture’ Craig’s Bond pursuing the videotaped orders of Judi Dench’s mirrors, ably capturing Craig’s slinky stride in any locale. movie of “The Hunger Games” blockbuster franchise The director and cast also said they felt inspired by late M in a more traditional 007 plot. Her instructions lead him “Spectre,” a Sony Pictures release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Tyesterday in Berlin, whose monumental architecture Berlin, whose gigantic Nazi-era Tempelhof airport building, to a shadowy international criminal organization led by a Picture Association of America for “intense sequences of served as the backdrop for much of the dystopian fantasy. a crucial airhub during the Cold War, serves as the setting longtime Bond villain, Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz). action and violence, some disturbing images, sensuality and The star of the wildly successful saga, Oscar winner for an explosive battle of good versus evil in the movie. The The pursuit skirts the snowy peaks of Austria, the cloak-and- language.” Running time: 148 minutes. Two and a half stars out Jennifer Lawrence, was set to walk the red carpet in the shuttered airport terminal, a towering semi-circular edifice danger cobblestones of Rome and the Mediterranean maze of of four. — AP futuristic Sony Center on historic Potsdamer Platz, along- of the country’s fascist past, today houses refugees who Tangier, with enough corresponding outfit changes to stock a side Julianne Moore, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland have escaped real-life war and oppression-a fact director runway show. Bond is operating outside of MI5, where new and Josh Hutcherson. Francis Lawrence said he found “strange” indeed. “The city head Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott) is overhauling the intelli- Hundreds of fans camped out from as early as mid- has a unique monumentalize in its architecture,” said the gence services with digital surveillance that he says will ren- night, many wrapped in aluminum heat blankets, eagerly director, who also shot in abandoned Soviet army barracks der the old-fashioned 00 program obsolete. waiting to catch a glimpse of the stars ahead of the rare and a former power plant in the city that, until a quarter- global premiere in the German capital, at 1830 GMT, century ago, was divided by the Berlin Wall. before the movie hits screens worldwide from November “Some of the dark architecture you find in the city suits 18-20. “I think it’s great Jennifer Lawrence started at such a the movie perfectly,” he told the Berliner Morgenpost daily. young age and yet stayed so level-headed, so funny and For Moore, who plays the character President Alma Coin, cool,” said one of the fans, Celeste Sopi, 18, waiting behind Tempelhof brought back family memories. “As I rolled up to steel barricades. “She is my idol, because I want to be an the set, I kept taking pictures of it to send to my father, actress too.” who used to fly into Tempelhof when he was stationed in Art student Ronja Kappel, 20, rugged up in a sleeping Frankfurt,” said Moore, 54. “So, it was interesting to be in a bag, used the wait to draw a picture of the cast and place that is so historical and to be shooting something.” “I praised Lawrence for “saying what she thinks. Actresses loved Berlin. I went to high school in Frankfurt, and it was a are told they have to be skinny, and she says she loves piz- different Germany then, obviously, it was before the Wall za.” Ahead of the opening, Lawrence-the world’s highest- came down. So to see the city, which is the center of so paid actress at age 25 — said she felt bitter-sweet to say much culture and so alive has been really fun for me.” goodbye to bow-and-arrow heroine Katniss Everdeen, Sutherland-who plays the tyrannical President Snow rul- who leads a rebellion against dictatorship in “The Hunger ing over a post-apocalyptic state-said he hoped the story Games: Mockingjay - Part 2”. “She is kind, she is ruthless, of revolution will give youngsters in today’s turbulent she is independent-minded. She is strong but merciful,” world hope for “a decent future”. “This is just the beginning,” said Lawrence at a press conference about the character said Sutherland, commenting on the movie adapted from who has battled her way through reality TV style life-and- the hugely popular novels by Suzanne Collins. “The intent death games. of this-for Suzanne Collins, for me, everyone actually who “I wish that I could have a percentage of her courage was involved in this project-is that it would be a catalyst for and thoughtfulness. She inspires me in every way.” While young people all over the world, everywhere. That they the books of the teen novel triology have sold 87 million would see in it their doom, and the possibility for a decent copies worldwide, the four-part movie franchise has future.” — AFP passed the billion-dollar (910-million-euro) mark at the box office, and Lawrence has topped Forbes magazine’s In this image released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/Columbia Pictures/EON Productions, Daniel Craig appears in a 2015 list of best-paid actresses at $52 million. scene from the James Bond film, ‘Spectre.’ — AP

‘ Movie’ a worthy romp for the beloved gang Long-lost Disney film aybe the Peanuts gang hasn’t been on the with sets viewers up for the 3-D experi- sequences are distinguished by more realistic back- big screen in decades because they’ve had so ence. and the gang are excited about a ground animation - snowy mountains and grassy discovered in British archive Mmuch success on the small one, with specials new kid moving into their neighborhood. She turns landscapes that look more like the world outside the like “The ” and “A Charlie Brown out to be the Little Red-Haired Girl, and Charlie is movie theater. ’s Flying Ace, aided by a team of long-lost Walt Disney animated rebellious personality,” according to the Christmas” that have been annual TV traditions since instantly smitten. School starts up again, bringing a Woodstock mechanics, flies off in pursuit of his love, film has been discovered in a BFI National Archive. the 1960s. Thankfully, “” isn’t just a series of challenges. First of all, the Little Red-Haired Fifi, just as Charlie Brown tries to work up the nerve to British archive and will be The animation in “Sleigh Bells” is the small-screen special writ large. The filmmakers take Girl is in Charlie’s class. introduce himself to the Little Red-Haired Girl. A screened for the first time in 87 years, the work of Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, who advantage of their cinematic scope with a bigger sto- “I just came down with a serious case of inadequa- Director cast child actors to voice British Film Institute announced Tuesday. created the Oswald films for Universal ry, more sophisticated animation and effective use of cy,” he says. Then there is the talent show, school-wide the Peanuts gang, and used vintage recordings of late The forgotten six-minute film, “Sleigh and following a contractual dispute 3-D that gives new depth to the Peanuts world. But tests, book reports and other kid-sized hurdles to over- actor-producer to realize Snoopy and Bells”, has not been seen since its original went on to create Mickey Mouse. The the characters loved by generations of fans - Lucy, come. The story follows the gang through the school Woodstock’s inimitable expressions. A catchy new release in 1928, according to the BFI film was rediscovered by a researcher Linus, Snoopy, Woodstock and beloved blockhead year, focusing on Charlie’s foibles. plays a song contributed by pop star is a National Archive, where the sole surviv- who was looking through the online cat- Charlie Brown - are as charming and timeless as ever. supporting role. Everything looks as colorful and bouncy bonus. While “The Peanuts Movie” may lack ing film print was discovered. The film, alogue of the BFI National Archive, It’s been nearly 40 years since the last Peanuts film, round as the . Meanwhile, Snoopy types the wink-wink wisdom aimed at adults often found in which features an early precursor to which is one of the world’s largest film 1977’s “Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown.” The gang’s himself into a high-flying adventure atop his dog- releases, it retains the wholesome appeal of Mickey Mouse, has been restored with collections. Baker, the curator, said the other theatrical outings were “A Boy Named Charlie house as he battles his nemesis, the Red Baron. These those stalwart TV specials. — AP the help of Walt Disney Animation film could introduce new audiences to Brown” in 1969 and “Snoopy, Come Home” in 1972. Studios and will have its world premiere “the vitality and imagination” of Walt “The Peanuts Movie,” written by the son and grandson in London on December 12. Disney’s creations during his early silent of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, doesn’t cover “What a joyful treat to discover a period. Andrew Millstein, president of new thematic territory, but it doesn’t really need to. long-lost Walt Disney film in the BFI Walt Disney Animation Studios, indicat- Relying on 50 years of character development, the National Archive and to be able to show ed there could be more “lost” Disney Peanuts gang stays true to their original selves - there’s ‘Sleigh Bells’ to a whole new audience 87 films yet to be discovered. “The Oswald no new edge or post-modern snark in the mix. The years after it was made,” said Robin Baker, shorts are an important part of our stu- central concepts (be honest, be yourself, do your best) head curator of the BFI National Archive. dios’ history, and we have been working are as gentle as the curves of Charlie Brown’s silhou- The short film features the first ever with film archives and private collectors ette. Disney character, “Oswald the Lucky all around the world to research the There are two simultaneous stories at play in the Rabbit”, a long-eared forerunner of missing titles,” Millstein said. — AFP film: one set in the “real world” of Charlie Brown and Mickey Mouse. Oswald was created in his friends, and a more fantastical tale of Snoopy as his 1927 and “loved for his mischievous and alter-ego, the Flying Ace. “The Peanuts Movie” opens during wintertime, and a snowy introductory scene