People THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2021 FFeatureseatures accusations againsthim. lampooned sexualmisconduct was trickedintoaninterviewthat fi comedian SachaBaronCohen $95 millionlawsuittargeting US judge onTuesdaydismissedfailed Moore. making factualallegations against would thinkthecomedian was was “clearlyajoke” andnoviewer beeped whenitgotnearMoore— a so-calledpedophiledetectorthat in whichthecomicdemonstrated added thattheabsurdsegment— gal claimsovertheappearance.He agreement thatprohibitedanyle- Moore signedacleardisclosure History had842,000.(AP) million, Hallmarkhad880,000and 1.25 million,MSNBChad1.23 viewers inprimetime.HGTVhad networks, averaging2.02million Telemundo had1million. Ion Televisionhad1.1millionand 1.8 million,Foxhad1.7 CBS had2.7million,Univision for theweek.NBChad2.9million, work averaged4.6millionviewers the primetimeratings,asnet- their fi Warriors, whowerecompetingin tured thewell-knownGoldenState have. The2019seriesalsofea- increased choicesthatconsumers ers fromyeartoyear,withthe Nielsen said. year’s audienceisdown34%, Toronto the pre-COVID2019serieswhere ences havereturned.Comparedto normal intiming,andliveaudi- restrictions. live audiencesduetoCOVID-19 and Octoberplayedwithout in theoddtimeoflateSeptember Heat. The2000serieswasheld tween theL.A.LakersandMiami games oflastyear’sseriesbe- million whowatchedthefi said. lion viewers,theNielsencompany Bucks averagedjustabout9mil- Phoenix SunsandMilwaukee championship matchbetweenthe to thepandemicbubble. audience backafterlastyear’strip has gainedsome,butnotall,ofits led afterMoorecomplainedhe own money. lowed tomarryherboyfriend,andsaidshewantedown use anintrauterinedeviceforbirthcontrol,saidshewasnotal- matter, Spearssaidshewasbeingforcedtotakemedicationand MONTGOMERY, Ala: NEW YORK: Jean-Christophe Reymond,fromright,VincentLindon,directorJuliaDucournau,AgatheRousselle,GaranceMarillierandLaisSal may weighinassheseekstohirealawyerofherchoice. in whichallthepartiesareexpectedtotakepartremotely,butshe need toend. blame forthelegalcircumstancesSpearssaidare“abusive”and between herfatherandaprofessionalconservatoroverwho’sto was supposedtooverseeherfi lawyer, thewithdrawalofanestate-managementcompanythat Wednesday todealwiththeaftermath. ers withlegalpoweroverthepopstarwillconveneforahearing has controlledherlifefor13years,aLosAngelesjudgeandoth- dramatic commentsincourtcondemningtheconservatorshipthat LOS ANGELES,July14,(AP):ThreeweeksafterBritneySpears’ fromSpears hearingtodealwithturmoil herdramaticspeech Judge Fox NewsChannelledthecable The FinalshelpedABCdominate Most eventstendtoloseview- This year’sseriesiscloseto That’s up41%fromthe6.38 The fi Senatecandidate She washarshlycriticalofherfather,whoservesasconservator “Ijustwantmylifeback,”Spearssaid. At theJune23hearing,herfi Spears isnotexpectedtospeakagainattheafternoonhearing, Spears’ remarksledtotheresignationofhercourt-appointed fth straightFinals. rst threegamesofthe John Cronan beatGoldenState,this ❑ The NBAFinals Roy Moore wrotethat A federal rst three ’s nances, andavolleyofaccusations rst publicwordsincourtonthe show. Thesegment ranafter the comic’s“Who isAmerica?” Moore’s unwitting appearanceon Cronan wrote. causes ofactionhenowbrings,” guage, whichprecludesthevery unambiguous contractuallan- Moore’s claimsarebarredbythe The lawsuitcentered on “The courtagreesthatJudge cally withFrance. Noé Debré—toblendthemoviemoreauthenti- in apairofFrenchwriters—ThomasBidegainand wanted toexpandthemovie’shorizons;hebrought Trump supporter,butit’simplied.ButMcCarthy Damon’s characterdoesn’tdefi of 2016aroundtheelectionDonaldTrump. ten yearsago.Hereturnedtothescriptinfall Carthy fi opposite ofBourne.” pect fromHollywood,”saysDamon.“He’slikethe McCarthy. rytelling asitdoestoEuropeanstorytelling,”says its head. directions, turningtheAmerican-abroadthrilleron ter” progresses,ittakesitspremiseinunpredictable American fi down thecoastfromCannesyetoneofbiggest July 30,isananomaly—aUS-Eurohybridsetjust tival andwillopeninNorthAmericantheaterson The fi side McCarthyinaninterview. his mostgravellyNeeson,jokeswhilesittingalong- sentially Americanhero. ences wouldcomeinexpectingDamonasaquintes- for oneofhismovies.In“Stillwater,”heknewaudi- and “TheStationAgent,”hadlongpursuedDamon the realkiller. daughter andfi class roughneck,sticksaroundtoseekjusticeforhis Knox-styled murdercase.Damon,agruff,working- imprisoned forherroleinascandalousAmanda jailed daughter(AbigailBreslin),whohasbeen father whotravelstoMarseille,France,visithis McCarthy’s “Stillwater”soundsveryLiamNeeson. CANNES, France,July14,(AP):Theset-upofTom A fatheronamissionin‘Stillwater’ In Marseille,Damon’scharacter,Bill,befriends Intrigued atmakingaMediterraneannoir,Mc- “It’s notthefi “It’s amoviethatowesasmuchtoAmericansto- “Stillwater,” though,ismorethanitmightappear. “I haveaveryspecifi McCarthy, thedirectorof“Spotlight,”“WinWin” Matt Damonstarsasatough,terseOklahoma Variety lm, whichpremieredattheCannesFilmFes- rst wroteasimplerversionofthemovie lms atthisyear’sfestival. As“Stillwa- nd amysterymanwhomayhavebeen ‘Titane’ atthe74thinternationalfi sh-out-of-water storythatyou’dex- c setofskills,”Damon,doing Singer seekstohirealawyerofherchoice Damon bridgesOklahoma,Franceindramaticthriller Film something shesaidJamesSpearshasexpressednodesiretodo. is puttingacareplaninplacetohelpendtheconservatorship, her asshehaswithfather. Spears, sayingthatBritneySpearshasexpressednodesiretooust marrying orforcedtousebirthcontrol.ShelashedbackatJames similar threatsforyears. because ofrecentdeaththreats,sayinghehasbeensubjectedto “Mr. Spears,astheConservatorofEstate,andMs.Mont- Montgomery saidsheiscommittedtostayingonthejoband Montgomery deniedthatBritneySpearswaspreventedfrom He opposedMontgomery’srequestformoneytohiresecurity nitively sayhe’sa oe Moore Cohen for 11years. resigned asconservatorofherpersonin2019,aroleheplayed his daughter’spersonallifehasbeenbeyondcontrolsincehe tigate theallegationsandMontgomery’srole,pointingoutthat tor ofherperson,overseeinglifechoices. gomery, thecourt-appointedprofessionalwhoservesasconserva- of herfi James Spearssaidinalegalfi nances, andhadmoremeasuredcriticismforJodiMont- lm festival,Cannes,southernFrance,Tuesday,July13.(AP) ily stayedinasmallcoastalIrishvillage.Thetowns- the earlydaysofpandemic,whenheandhisfam- grew upinBoston.” Carthy) guyswholiveinNewYorkandthewayI different from(DamongesturestohimselfandMc- This isabeautifullifeandculture.Theyliveentirely that fromourtimedownthere.Ilookedatitlike: character doeswhattheydo.Ireallyfeellikewegot you havetoadeepunderstandingofwhyyour so dowe,”saysDamon.“Anytimeyouplayarole, politicians.” were justgreat.WhenIgotback,wassoangryat thought: ‘WhatamIgoingtoget?’Andtheseguys rthy says.“EvenwhenIstartedgoing(toOklahoma) were soangrywhenwewritingthis,”McCa- polarized. MyFrenchco-writersusedtosay:You Damon hadhisownfi “The moviehastremendousempathyforBill,and “It wascomingatatimewhereweweresuper of aMiddleAmericanewspaperprofi you, Francoise.Stayoverthere.” tent,” saysMcCarthy.“Thankyou,Pedro.Thank turned toMarseillescreenit. Shortly afterpremieringthefi largely shotinMarseillewithamostlylocalcrew. American changehisways?Ouiornon? subtle question:Cananationalistic,narrow-minded pand hisveryethnocentricperspective.Themovie’s slowly, reluctantlybeginstoadaptand,maybe,ex- young daughterMayaplayedbyLilouSiauvaud)and Camille Cottin,starof“CallMyAgent”andher a localsinglemother(playedbytheFrenchactress with anewunderstanding. get asenseoftheregion’scharacter.Bothcameback says, “threedaysinatruckandlotofbarbeque”to a pre-productiontriptoOklahomafor,asMcCarthy fore shootingthemovie,DamonandMcCarthytook fi gets writtenalotduringelectionseasons.Butthe lmmakers madeanefforttogetbeyondclichés.Be- Threats “Stillwater” couldbeseenasHollywood’sversion “Too manytimesAmericanmoviespitchtheir The production,itself,wasn’tsodifferent.Itwas ling thatthecourtneedstoinves- quarter-century. But intheseg- Alabama intheSenate ina the fi his losstoDemocrat 30s. Hehasdeniedtheallegations. teens whenhewasamaninhis and romanticrelationshipswith tions thathehadpursuedsexual Moore facedmisconductaccusa- The accusationscontributedto rst Democrattorepresent Empathy sh-out-water experiencein lm inCannes,theyre- Doug Jones ameh poseforphotographersuponarrivalatthepremiereoffi lm le, thekindthat , legal arrangementthatshedidn’twant. vatorship lastweek,sayingitnolongerwantedtotakepartina appointed toworkalongsidehim,alsowithdrewfromtheconser- sought asareplacementforherfatherlastyearbutwasinstead a newattorney,whichattheJunehearingshesaidwanted. documents lastweeksayingheresigned,effectiveassoonshegot her longtimecourt-appointedlawyer,SamuelInghamIII,whofi nent appointmentbeforerecentevents. still technicallytemporary.Sheappearedtobeontrackforperma- Montgomery nootherchoicebuttodefendherself.” her soleorco-conservatorformorethan13years—leavesMs. by Mr.Spearsandhisnew‘Itwasn’tme!’strategy—afterbeing to startthefi said inacourtfi ship, andthatsheislivingherbestlifepossible,”Montgomery she isonapathtorecoveryandterminationofherconservator- a teamtoensurethatMs.Spears’bestinterestarebeingmet, gomery, astheConservatorofPerson,shouldbeworking The BessemerTrust,afi Britney SpearswillstillberepresentedatWednesday’shearingby Despite nearlytwoyearsonthejob,Montgomery’sstatusis ity ofthesegment indismissing who satstone-faced. repeatedly asitgot nearMoore, In thesegment,devicebeeped ing asupposedpedophiledetector. bogus militarytechnology,includ- “Col ErranMorad,”discussing a fauxcounterterrorisminstructor ment, The judgenotedthe absurd- Baron Cohen movie.’” Carthy. “Iwaslike:‘No,we’remakingaEuropean we’re makinganindependentmovie,’”saysMc- teams weregettingsmaller. ing shooting.Hisdepartmentheadsaskedwhytheir McCarthy hadtopullbackonthecrewsizedur- the productionbudgetwenthigherthanexpected, great thatfelt.” form ofworship.It’slikechurch.AndIforgothow quote-unquote ‘content,’butit’snotthesame.It’sa unlike theotherthing.You’relookingatsame together —andwhywedothat.Andit’sso are strangersandwatchingthisthingtakingit experience isofsittingwithathousandpeoplewho ing thingsonthelittlescreeninmyhouse,what says. “Itwasareallypowerfulreminderofwatch- simply beingbackinafullmovietheater. original idea,madefortheaters. of movie:astar-fronteddramaforadultsfroman European ones.It’sanincreasinglyuncommonkind both bluestatesandred,Americanmoviegoers to stokeinterestasatheatricalreleasethatappeals Media anddistributedbyFocusFeatures,itwilltry mon’s leadperformance.ProducedbyParticipant and earlyOscarnominationsspeculationforDa- accent. “Hell yeah,çava,”hesayswithastrongOklahoman Bill rarelygetsmorethanafewFrenchwordsout. mon’s FrenchanybetterthanBill’s?Inthemovie, ing inFrance,he’dmovethere,hesays.ButisDa- also infatuatedDamon.Ifhewereyoungerandliv- tend tojustbereallyniceandopenhelpful.” community Iparachuteinto,”saysDamon.“People their midst. people becamecharminglyprotectiveofthestarin “On oneofthecalls,someonesaid,‘Itfeelslike But getting“Stillwater”madewasn’teasy.When “It wascompletelyoverwhelming,”Damon At thepremiere,Damonwasmovedtotearsat “Stillwater” debutedtostrongreviewsatCannes “Actually muchworse,”laughsMcCarthy. “It’s maybeworse,”Damonsayssheepishly. Marseille, abustlingandmulticulturalportcity, “I’m muchmoretakencareofthanBillbyany nger-pointing andmediaattacks...Themud-slinging ling. “Instead,Mr.Spearshasdecideditistime appearedas nancial companythatSpearshad tiff inthesuit,are appealing. (AP) and hiswife,who also wasaplain- otherwise,” thejudge wrote. able viewerwouldhaveseenit was clearlyajokeandnoreason- Moore’s interview,thesegment $95 millionindamages. Moore’s lawsuit,whichsought Court recordsindicate Moore “In lightofthecontextJudge led led