Latest news with #ChrisWeaver
News18
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Triple H And WWE Stars Pull The Curtains Back In Netflix's WWE: Unreal
Last Updated: Paul 'Triple H' Levesque and WWE stars reveal the creative process in Netflix's docuseries WWE: Unreal. It premieres July 29, directed by Chris Weaver. Paul 'Triple H" Levesque and some of WWE's biggest stars are ready to lift the veil on professional wrestling in the upcoming Netflix docuseries WWE: Unreal. Netflix has released the first trailer for the five-part series, which promises fans an unprecedented look inside the creative engine of WWE. For the first time, viewers will be taken behind the scenes into WWE's writers' room, offering a rare glimpse into how storylines are developed and executed. WWE: Unreal features appearances from John Cena, Cody Rhodes, and a host of WWE icons including Rhea Ripley, CM Punk, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Chelsea Green, Jey Uso, Xavier Woods, and Triple H himself. The series highlights the intense work, intricate storytelling, and pivotal decisions that shape the WWE Universe. Because at WWE, as the series tagline says, you just can't fake hard work. The docuseries is narrated by Triple H — the 14-time WWE World Champion who has served as WWE's Chief Content Officer since 2022. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Levesque spoke about the motivation behind opening up the creative process to the public. 'Our business evolves and so do the expectations of our audience," Levesque said. 'When you look at the track records of Omaha Productions and NFL Films, it felt like we had the right partners in place to pull back the curtain and showcase WWE in a brand-new way." CM Punk Voices Mixed Emotions While the project has been praised for its bold transparency, not everyone is fully comfortable with the approach. WWE superstar CM Punk has admitted to having mixed feelings about the concept. 'I have that old-school mentality of protecting the business," Punk shared. 'So the idea of letting cameras this far behind the scenes is really strange to me — even if I understand why fans want to see it." WWE: Unreal is set to premiere globally on Netflix on July 29. The series is directed by Chris Weaver and produced by Omaha Productions, NFL Films, Skydance Sports, and WWE. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Business News Wales
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business News Wales
New Guide Launched on How to Do Business with 'Ardal' Councils
A new guide designed to help suppliers and contractors understand how to do business with the Ardal Councils has been launched. This guide aims to help organisations understand how the Ardal Councils – Cardiff, Torfaen, Monmouthshire, and the Vale of Glamorgan – buy goods, services and works. It also sets out how potential suppliers can increase their chances of finding out about opportunities and bidding for work. Ardal is the new name for the procurement service run by Cardiff Council, which delivers the council's collaborative partnership with Monmouthshire, Torfaen and the Vale of Glamorgan. The guide outlines the procurement processes, legal frameworks, and opportunities available to organisations looking to supply goods, services, or works to local authorities. It provides clear instructions on how to register for opportunities via platforms like Sell2Wales and Proactis and explains the four procurement routes adopted by all Ardal Councils. The guide also details the selection criteria, tendering procedures, the tendering Do's and Don'ts and evaluation methods used by Ardal Councils, ensuring transparency and fairness. The guide promotes socially responsible procurement, encouraging suppliers to align with Ardal's values around community wellbeing, carbon reduction, ethical employment, and commitment to paying the Real Living Wage. It supports SMEs, third-sector organisations, and consortia in accessing public contracts, and offers practical advice on submitting competitive bids. Cabinet Member for Finance, Modernisation and Performance, Cllr Chris Weaver, said: 'This new guide has been developed to make our procurement processes more accessible, transparent, and inclusive. By clearly outlining how to do business with the Ardal Councils, we're opening the door to more local businesses, social enterprises, and SMEs—helping them compete fairly and contribute to our shared goals of community wellbeing, sustainability, and ethical employment. I encourage all potential suppliers to take advantage of this resource.' To read the new guide, visit the Insight and News section of the Ardal website.
Otago Daily Times
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Art seen: July 3
"20th Anniversary Exhibition", group show (Gallery De Novo) Gallery De Novo has achieved the rare feat of a 20th anniversary, and congratulations are in order on the milestone. To celebrate, a special exhibition has been opened featuring new art by regular contributors to the gallery, alongside several less well-known names. In keeping with the gallery's now regular Christmas shows, in which artists are given a specific size of circular board on which to produce their work, the pieces in this display are also, for the most part, of identical dimensions. The square canvases feature a wealth of new art covering many subjects and styles. As such, it is difficult to review the exhibition as a whole, other than to say there are many excellent pieces on show. What is possible, however, is to single out numerous pieces and artists worthy of special mention. These include Hamish Allen's stylised albatross, a warm cafe interior by Jo St Baker and a magic-realist portrait by Jasmine Middlebrook. A gentler approach is taken by Mel McKenzie's deliberately soft-focus garden and meditative works by Eliza Glyn, Simon Kaan, and Greer Clayton. Eliot Coates goes further with his radiant colourfield abstractions, and Ana Teofilo adds a welcome Pasifika piece. Other notable items include Jason Low's vibrant image of the Taieri Plain and Dean Raynbould's tribute to the late Martin Phillipps. "Never and Before", Kathryn McCool (Olga) Kathryn McCool's photographs tread a borderline between photojournalism and a highly personal journey through time and place. The works on display come from two sources: unpublished images, mainly from around the South, and photographs from around the Manawatu taken for and published in the artist's book P. North . These two sources make up the "never seen" and "seen before" of the exhibition's title. The images, precisely taken in terms of capturing the moment and in terms of their clarity, display the artist's methodical and measured approach to her subjects. The photographs are presented in stark yet warm monochrome, and reveal a psychogeography of the land, with deceptively simple images giving hints to the history and memory traces behind the faces, buildings, and trees. The scenes seem to come from outside time. There is little to tell whether the images are from 2025 or 1955, the ghosts of past and present mix together in the depictions. The works take the photoreportage style of Friedlander or Ussher and add a gentle frisson that suggests that there are stories behind the images. While the depths are not dark or gothic enough to suggest that Palmerston North is an antipodean Twin Peaks, the artist has grasped some sense of unease lurking within the ostensibly bucolic in these intriguing images. "Made in Dunedin", Chris Weaver (Brett McDowell Gallery) Chris Weaver is one of New Zealand's most recognised and accomplished potters. The West Coast-based artist has recently been artist in residence at his old alma mater, Otago Polytechnic. During his time in Dunedin, he has been busy creating his distinctive angular yet functional ceramics, many of which are on display at Brett McDowell Gallery. Weaver's small teapots and jugs have simple, practical forms, but are imbued with several trademark features for which the artist has become well-known. The irregular polygonal shapes of his creations are often emphasised by sheer cut lines and the addition of angular wooden handles. While this may make the works sound austere, this could not be further from the truth. There is a cheeky friendliness to the shapes which almost gives them the feel of perched fantails and wax-eyes, watching and ready to fly off at any moment. The glazes used are a further softening feature of the works. Many of the pieces on display are either salt-glazed, leaving that medium's distinct pattern of speckles and bare lines under a deep, rich skin. Other pieces are worked with a celadon glaze, giving them a soft translucent green shade over a strong grey base. This ancient Chinese glaze is used to good effect, giving the pieces a cool, calming quality. By James Dignan
Otago Daily Times
18-06-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Firing things up
One of New Zealand's top ceramicists, Chris Weaver, has been working on his latest collection at the Dunedin School of Art. The tablewear potter tells Rebecca Fox the secret to success is staying true to yourself. Standing in West Coast swamp waiting for the frost to melt so he could pick sphagnum moss, Chris Weaver had one thought — "I'm not going to do this for the rest of my life". As a dad with a young family, he had been attracted by the good money the job offered, but the experience, while not fun, did give him the determination to make a real go of his first love, potting. He discovered a love of clay as a child when his father dug out steps in a bank of the family's property in Nelson. Then at high school he gravitated towards the art room, where he spent most of his time. "I was only interested in art." Finding a potter's wheel stashed away in the back cupboard, he dragged it out, found some clay and taught himself to throw pots. "It's a very addictive kind of material. I think its the immediacy of being able to create something quickly." When he was in the fifth form (year 11), his art teacher told him he was wasting his time at school and should go to art school, recommending Otago Polytechnic's course. Weaver, probably the last student they let into the course with just school certificate, was just 16 years old and a "fairly innocent country boy" when he arrived at art school. "I grew up really quickly, and I think I was like a sponge, I just sucked it all in. The whole world opened up to me." He specialised in design and sculpture for his fine arts diploma, and followed that up with a ceramics course. On finishing his studies he decided to return to the West Coast, the only place that felt like home to him after moving around the country growing up, as his father worked in a bank and was often transferred. "I just love it there." He continued to pot, building a studio and kilns as money allowed at Kaniere on the outskirts of Hokitika. Back then jobs were plentiful on the Coast, and he could pick up short-term work when needed to fund his growing family and time working on his pottery. "So when the money ran out I'd get a job for a few months, and then get back to it again." With a wife who helped support the family and the determination not to go back to harvesting sphagnum moss, Weaver focused on making a go of being a potter. "I decided I'd try to make pots that I thought other people would like." He tried his hand at commercial pottery but did not enjoy it. "To make money, you have to almost become a factory worker. And I didn't enjoy that at all. But I did do it for a while. You do what you have to do. But the work suffers, I think, when you have to do that." The 1970s was the heyday of potters, when you could "put a brown glaze on anything and it would sell", he says. But it all came to an end when government regulations opened the door to cheap Chinese tablewear, and a lot of potters gave it up. "That was all I could do, so I kept going. But I decided that I'd make something that you couldn't buy anywhere else. That's how I survived that, and now ceramics is making a comeback again." It was when he was cleaning out his grandmother's house that he found the inspiration that would change his career trajectory — an old cast-iron flat iron dug out from the hot water cupboard. "I knew straight away, it just felt so comfortable in the hand. I went home that night and made the first teapot of that series." The semi-matte black teapot with a rimu handle that emerged went on to win several awards. He selected the glaze as a direct reference to the flat iron that influenced the work. It was a pivotal point for Weaver, who used to have to "go around hawking" his pots to galleries, something he hated doing, but with the wins the galleries came to him. "Getting that first breakthrough is nice. That's what I tell the students. When you make work for yourself, that's when you make the best work." Tablewear has always been Weaver's focus as he enjoys the challenges it provides, and it is important to him that they are functional, not just decorative. "There is the design challenge of visually balancing the spout, handle and lid. So design and function is quite important. So I can't make anything frivolous, and I don't like to decorate, so I have to rely on form." Over the years he has developed processes and techniques that make that easier, and when making a new series usually starts with the teapot first. "Everything else sort of comes from that. Once I've resolved the teapot, the other things follow quite easily." Each series he makes flows on from the work that has gone before. In 2011 Weaver won second place in the Portage Ceramic Awards with his Made to Measure teapots and the scholarship award in 2014. He focuses on the main body of the teapot first. He does not see the point in replicating the perfect functional teapot, believing that market has been captured by the round-bodied English teapot. "I guess it's an artistic expression that I'm using to create something. So I do sacrifice a little bit of function sometimes. I've never been satisfied with just round pots, so I've always felt the need to alter them." Over the years his forms, made out of a fine-bodied porcelain-type stonewear, have become more angular in shape, as he has developed new techniques. "All of those pots of wheels thrown, even though they look as though they've been hand slab built. Someone once described it as hand-building on the wheel." Weaver likes the process as it is quicker. Once formed on the wheel he then uses a variety of techniques to change their shape including squashing, cutting and incising them. "Clay is such an immediate responsive material, so I can develop forms quickly." Keeping things simple means paying close attention to detail, with Weaver seeking out glazes that will break on the edges to reveal the material underneath and the marks made in the clay. "I use a lot of cutting wires, twisted cutting wires, to leave marks as kind of evidence of the process." While he started out with a wood-fired kiln, having to keep feeding it was a problem, so he moved on to an electric kiln, which provides more reliable results. But recently he has doing a lot of salt-firing, enjoying the unpredicatability of the method. "I like the way that the glazes break on the edges and they connect. There's the opportunity for something special to come out of the kiln. There's a bit more risk, but because I don't decorate it, it's nice to be able to use the flame to decorate the piece. What I love about the salt-firing is that. You still get that buzz. It's a bit like opening a Christmas present." Over the years he has also created many of his own tools out of driftwood he finds on the beach. It was a case of needs must when in the 1980s it could take three days for a tool ordered from Christchurch to get to him. So for each new series of work, he creates new tools. "They were quite organic, just because of the nature of the material. And they just felt so comfortable to use. And in the end they add to the pleasure of making." While he initially thought living on the West Coast might be a disadvantage, he now realises it has probably been the opposite, as he has had to rely on his own judgement and has been less influenced by trends. That is not to say he has isolated himself, though; his work has been shown around the world and he has been invited to complete residencies in Australia and America. In 2015 he was admitted to the International Academy of Ceramics in Geneva. "In America there was a good response. I'm doing something different, a lot different to what they do." At a residency in China, where he found processes were very traditional, he got to work in a brick and tile factory, where everything he made in the first week cracked. "So I'm backed into a corner — and I just looked at what they were doing and changed my technique, and a whole lot of new work developed from that." He has also exhibited and held workshops in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In Japan many people commented on the Japanese influence in his work, although that is not a conscious intention from Weaver. On his travels he has been able to swap pieces with other ceramicists. "It's the work I couldn't make myself. I mean the best work that people make I think is when they are being true to themselves. And I can see that in other people's work, and I really appreciate that." In Dunedin, on a residency at the Dunedin School of Art while completing work for his latest exhibition at Brett McDowell Gallery, Weaver is making the most of the school's different kilns, in what could be described as a bit of a gamble given it is only three weeks until the exhibition opens. "I had a couple of tests come out yesterday from the gas kiln, and I was quite encouraged by those things. I do work better under pressure." TO SEE "Made in Dunedin", Chris Weaver, Brett McDowell Gallery, June 20-July 10th.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Learn the art of Sim Racing on Teach Me Tuesday
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — The world of Sim Racing can be described as a combination of a gamer and a racing enthusiast. The online Sim Racing platform I-Racing is the premier online racing simulator. It has tracks from around the world scanned to be raced on and race cars from all series that you can drive in the virtual world. FOX8 photojournalist Chris Weaver took Brad Jones to a Sim Racing store in Winston-Salem so he could learn how to race virtually. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
