Established 1961 13 Lifestyle Features Tuesday, February 2, 2021

hen Ridley Scott and Kevin Sammy, Jacob and Crystal during lock- pass unnoticed.” “And then we cut to Macdonald created documen- down, and “feels like he’s the last man bloggers, YouTubers, everybody des- Wtary “Life in a Day” a decade on Earth.” We meet a man left homeless perate to be noticed-and I think that ago, their goal was to construct a video by the pandemic who finds relief in flying obviously is a human characteristic,” portrait of a typical 24 hours on Earth, drones, and a mother whose young son said Macdonald. “But that’s not neces- as filmed by tens of thousands of ama- appeared in the first film but who now sarily a negative thing, it’s just human teurs around the world. Repeating the keeps his ashes in an urn after his tragic beings want to matter.” trick in “Life in a Day 2020,” stitching death from Covid-19. together footage shot last summer as Macdonald-Oscar-winning director of ‘How the globe changes’ the coronavirus pandemic and massive “The Last King of Scotland” and Despite the film’s experimental and anti-racism protests turned the world on “Touching the Void”-agreed to return for ambitious premise, a few powerful clips its head, their sequel is anything but a sequel last March, when the looming In this file photo British director/producer Ridley In this file photo British director Kevin had to be omitted on taste grounds. typical. pandemic was “this Covid thing” which Scott poses for pictures on the red carpet upon Macdonald poses during a photocall for the The final YouTube film will offer child- Assembled by a vast team of editors seemed sure to “be over by May.” (Scott arrival for the world premier of “Exodus: God film “Whitney” at the 71st edition of the friendly and over-18 versions, while from 324,000 submitted clips, the film- returns as executive producer.) “Little and Kings” in London. — AFP photos Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. Macdonald agreed to remove an which premieres Monday at the did we know the whole year would be “amazing” sequence of an aborted sui- Sundance Film Festival before hitting utterly transformed,” Macdonald said. which include a man whose proposal to began the arduous task of assembling cide attempt because “it wasn’t a YouTube-captures the eerily empty “Even when I look back on the first film, I his girlfriend goes woefully wrong, and a candidates by theme, while identifying healthy thing to have.” Still, despite the streets, collective cabin-fever and civil feel like it is a time-capsule for all sorts couple breaking up live on camera. “It’s their favorite characters. The team many challenges, Macdonald is press- unrest of a year like no other. “Obviously of things... this one will feel even more amazing, things you’ve pretty much nev- received four times the original project’s ing YouTube to commit to another edi- because of everything that was going on different,” he added. er seen on camera before for real,” he submissions, with many remarkable for tion in 2030. He hopes to establish a at that moment in July-George Floyd, said. “There’s a lot of those in romantic the far-flung locations that astounding “long-running series that shows how the BLM, Trump, Covid-this is a more the- ‘Never seen on camera’ comedies but, actually, this is what that mobile camera technology-and desire globe changes”-even if the next film is matically rich film, and probably a year, While the first film received “endless really looks like.” Over two months, clips for global fame, however fleeting-has unlikely to match the events of the past than hopefully we’ll get for a while,” stuff of people skateboarding and surf- from 192 countries were watched in their reached. year. “Maybe personally I’ll be quite director Macdonald told AFP. ing,” this time “the material was by a fac- original language and cataloged by One memorable clip sees a man in relieved if it’s peaceful and uneventful,” The footage is more personal than tor of 10 more sad, more about loss and around 40 filmmakers, who gave each remote Siberia sift through frozen cow he said. — AFP political. Macdonald’s favorite clip is a mortality, and spirituality,” he said. submission a rating out of five. heads in his basement before plunging Robinson Crusoe-esque man who Macdonald was astonished by the brutal Macdonald and his editors then into an icy lake and declaring to camera: recorded himself chatting to pet spiders honesty of many of the submissions, watched the top-ranked clips, and “What I fear the most is that my life will Museums, malls re-open in Poland

useums, art galleries, libraries and shopping malls re-opened in MPoland yesterday as the country eased some of its coronavirus restric- tions. But Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said most schools would Brandon Cronenberg German film-maker Michael Venus French twins Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma remain shut until at least March. “Several countries that took decisions over Christmas that were less conserva- tive than ours are suffering very bad consequences,” he told RMF radio. Bars, restaurants, hotels, nightclubs and gyms will also stay closed until February 14 at the earliest. “What was possible to ease in the current situation is being eased. Let’s anadian film-maker Brandon The festival, which is normally held in “La Nuee” (the cloud) by French hold on a little longer to avoid a third Cronenberg-son of horror master eastern France, took place online this director Just Philippot, won both the wave,” health ministry spokesman CDavid Cronenberg-picked up a year owing to the coronavirus pandem- public prize and critics prize. Wojciech Andrusiewicz told reporters top award in the genre Sunday, follow- ic. In “Possessor”, contract killer Tasya Reminiscent of Hitchcock’s “The Birds”, last week. Infections and deaths have ing in the family tradition. Cronenberg Vos (Adrea Riseborough), uses a brain Philippot uses carnivorous grasshop- been falling in Poland in recent days. won the Grand Prize at the Gerardmer implant to take control of Colin Tate, pers as a vehicle to set up apocalyptic Yesterday, the health ministry reported fantasy and horror film festival for played by Christopher Abbott. He is scenes that make spectator’s skin 2,503 new infections and 42 coron- “Possessor”, which takes viewers on a used to try and kill the head of a firm crawl. Gerardmer is the first French film avirus-related deaths over the past 24 sinister trip with white-collar assassins that employs methods associated with festival each year and for the 2021 edi- hours. Some restaurants and night- who take control of others to execute Big Brother, but things don’t go accord- tion, it showcased 30 films, 12 of which clubs have defied the ban and re- contracts. It was previously presented ing to plan. The festival jury also award- were presented as part of its official opened but face hefty fines and at the Sundance festival, where it ed top prizes to German film-maker competition. — AFP police raids. Over the weekend, 150 marked audiences with graphic depic- Michael Venus for “Sleep” and to officers were deployed to shut down a tions of extreme violence. “Possessor” French twins Ludovic and Zoran nightclub in Rybnik in southern also won Gerardmer’s prize for best Boukherma for “Teddy”, a wolfish tale Poland, with police using stun French director Just Philippot score by Jim Williams. that won the youth jury prize as well. grenades and tear gas. — AFP

ily clad. “And this one comes around, I started laughing so hard and Ashton was like, ‘This is kind of funny.’ And I was like, ‘We should do it!’” Mila also joked that her kids were one of the motivating factors behind the commercial. Speaking to ‘Entertainment Tonight’, she quipped: “Also it was quarantine and we were ila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher stuck with our children for nine, 12, agreed to shoot a Super Bowl months at this moment, and I was like, Mcommercial because they want- ‘Two days, baby! Two days off.’ ed to enjoy some “freedom”. The 37- Literally we were like, ‘Yeah, OK, let’s year-old actress and Ashton, 42, have do it.’ And so we did it. “And I hate say- been stuck at home with their kids - ing it but we were like, ‘Freedom!’... It Wyatt, six, and Dimitri, four - amid the was amazing!” Mila loves her children coronavirus pandemic, and they “very much” and they were disappoint- ed to see her set off for the commer- In this screengrab, Sia, Robin Wright, Halle Berry, Elisabeth Sereda, Andra Day and Zendaya speak at the 2021 HFPA Women Breaking Barriers thought shooting the Cheetos commer- Sundance Panel during the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. — AFP photos cial would give them a welcome break. cial. The Hollywood star - who married Mila - who starred alongside her hus- Ashton in 2015 - shared: “[I’ve] never band in ‘That ‘70s Show’ earlier in her been so excited to wake up at five in career - said: “It’s so silly! Ashton and the morning to be like, ‘I’m going to I, we never work together. I mean, I work!’ And I literally skipped out of the know we worked together before ... house. My kids were like, ‘You’re aban- And in the midst of quarantine, they doning us!’ And I was like, ‘Relax.’” sent us this ad to do and every time — BangShowbiz I’ve ever been offered a Super Bowl ad S actress Robin Wright always ing “Land” across 29 days in remote it’s always a female having to be scant- wanted to direct, but it wasn’t until Alberta, Canada, where her team con- UNetflix’s “House of Cards” crew structed a log cabin at 8,000 feet (2,400 helped her helm 10 episodes that she meters). “We had one day of summer, gained the experience to make her first and then all of a sudden it just turned into movie. “What a gift that was, because oth- winter,” she said “And so we had to shoot erwise I would not have had the confi- 10 to 15 (scenes)... in one day. But it was dence to move on and do a feature film, doable.” that’s for sure,” said Wright at the A scene featuring a bear confronting Sundance Film Festival premiere of her Edee couldn’t be shot on the mountain in debut “Land” on Sunday. In this screengrab, Robin Wright speaks at case the trained animal encountered real It is a lesson in teamwork painfully the 2021 HFPA Women Breaking Barriers wild bears, which were so common on set ignored by the film’s lead character Edee- Sundance Panel during the 2021 Sundance that one regularly helped itself to ham- played by Wright-who after suffering Film Festival in New York City. burgers from the craft services table. immense personal tragedy decides to live Making matters more challenging still was alone in the beautiful but unforgiving place remotely-like the entire festival-due the juggling act of directing for the first Wyoming wilderness. Arriving at a leaky, to the pandemic. time while also starring. “You’re in front of dilapidated cabin miles from civilization “We do face adversity, and it’s gener- the camera, and you’re in six feet of snow, without phone or car, Edee’s attempts to ally the compassion and kindness of and you can’t walk... to watch playback teach herself to hunt and survive take a another person that gets us through that because you’re going to put footsteps in humbling and perilous turn, before the difficult time... I think we all can resonate the snow-and it’s freshly fallen snow that arrival of a local hunter. “Why make this with that right now.” Even with her skills we need to shoot!” said Wright.—AFP movie?... It’s a reminder that we do need honed on Netflix’s political drama, Wright each other,” said Wright at a Q&A taking faced unprecedented challenges shoot-