Latest news with #FallingDown
Time of India
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Michael Douglas shares why he has ‘no real intentions' to act again: ‘I don't want to drop dead on set'
Michael Douglas, who is known for his roles in 'Romancing the Stone', 'The Jewel of the Nile', 'Fatal Attraction', 'Falling Down', and others, is not willing to act again, according to the New York Post. "I have not worked since 2022 purposefully because I realised I had to stop," said the Oscar winner at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic. He added,"I had been working pretty hard for almost 60 years, and I did not want to be one of those people who dropped dead on the set." "I have no real intentions of going back," Douglas continued. "I say I'm not retired because if something special came up, I'd go back, but otherwise, no," he shared, as reported by the New York Post. Douglas was last seen as Benjamin Franklin in the 2024 miniseries 'Franklin'. He also opened up on how his throat cancer diagnosis affected his career. "Stage 4 cancer is not a holiday, but there aren't many choices, are there?," he said, adding, "I went with the program, involving chemo and radiation, and was fortunate. The surgery would have meant not being able to talk and removing part of my jaw, and that would have been limiting as an actor." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo In May, Douglas shared that he doesn't miss being in front of the camera. "I'm enjoying my hiatus and enjoying my life," he shared. "It was overwhelming running the production company and acting at the same time," reported the New York Post. "If something good comes up that I really like. But I don't feel a burning desire," Douglas added of returning to acting. "I'm still producing. I still love bringing people together." He also shut down the possibility of doing another Marvel movie after starring as Hank Pym in the "Ant-Man" trilogy and 'Avengers: Endgame'. "I don't think so. I had the experience, and I was excited to do it," said Douglas, adding, "I'd never done a green screen picture before." Zeta-Jones, whom Douglas has been married to since 2000, confirmed last year she was stepping away from mainstream Hollywood and instead focusing on indie projects, according to the New York Post.
Spectator
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Masculinity in crisis – portrayed by Michael Douglas
There isn't another actor alive whom I'd rather watch than Michael Douglas. Just as Pauline Kael once said that the thought of Cary Grant makes us smile, so the thought of Michael Douglas makes me grin, smirk, nod, wink, cackle, cheer – and walk a little taller, too. Even his anti-heroes are heroic in their truth to self. From the sly, ophidian sneer of his washed-up money man in A Perfect Murder to the salty, satanic leer of his trigger-happy cop in Basic Instinct, Douglas has embraced self-destruction, stared down absurdity and made plain what Nietzsche meant when he said that man is either a 'laughing stock or a painful embarrassment'. But no matter how much Douglas means to me, he means a whole lot more to Jessa Crispin. In What is Wrong With Men she uses him and his movies as a lens through which to focus on the crises she believes cripple our culture. You want to understand how power is perverted by corporate greed? Check out Wall Street. Baffled by what drives high-school shooters? Falling Down should be your first port of call. Wondering why men are alarmed by feminism while being both intrigued and repelled by women's new-found openness about sex and sexuality? Watch Fatal Attraction. If you're thinking the book sounds right-on you're on the right track. What is Wrong With Men is woker than an insomniac on a bed of nails, and Crispin merits a severe reprimand for her suggestion that the male midlife crisis is nothing but histrionic melodrama. But she is also witty and astute and – the odd solecism aside – not a bad writer. She might be a movie critic, but she steers well clear of film theory flannel. She might be a feminist, but she has no time for the sisterhood's more sinister schemes. Whether or not she knows it, she is, if not quite liberal or bourgeois, an old-fashioned humanist. If F.R. Leavis had ever written a book on masculinity in the movies it would have read a lot like this one. Indeed, rather like Leavis in his appraisals of Charles Dickens and D.H. Lawrence, Crispin has felt no need to work her way through the entire Douglas canon. (Praise be, since it encompasses the best part of 70 movies and TV series.) True, her analysis of David Fincher's The Game as a dramatisation of castrated patriarchy is a bit reductive (the movie is even more baffling than its most obvious inspiration, John Fowles's The Magus). But it's more than made up for by her reading of the geopolitical implications of what I've hitherto regarded as Ridley Scott's mindless actioner Black Rain. Yet there are some curious omissions. There is no mention, for instance, of Coma. Michael Crichton's adaptation of the Robin Cook bestseller was not only Douglas's first big picture (after five years on the box in The Streets of San Francisco); it was also, more saliently, the first of many movies in which he plays second fiddle to a female protagonist (in this case Genevieve Bujold). A year later he starred opposite Jane Fonda in The China Syndrome, when once again the woman took the lead role (as a TV reporter) and Douglas followed her around like a lapdog (he's actually her cameraman). Another year on, he played in a romcom, It's My Turn – in which Jill Clayburgh gets all the speeches and the big character arc while Douglas looks on helplessly. More mystifying still in a book centred on male sexuality is why Crispin finds no room for Douglas's Liberace biopic, Behind the Candelabra – a movie so graphic about Greek love it should have been called 'Candelabra the Behind'. While Crispin is right to see Douglas as the cinematic emblem of patriarchy under late capitalism, she rather lets the question of who cast him in that role go unanswered. Is it the case that having played opposite those grand female stars in his first big movies, he's ever since been typecast as the second lead? Or could it be that Douglas, who has been a film producer almost as long as an actor, decided on the kind of characters he wanted to play from the start? Or, again, is it simply that his off-set producer activities have necessitated his taking a backseat on set? Answer comes there none. In other words, what is wrong with What is Wrong with Men is what, I'm told, is wrong with too many men: it's not long enough.
Irish Independent
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
New Novatone single inspired by sunny days near popular Wicklow Blue Flag beach
Originally from Kilkenny, but now living just outside Arklow, McCorry and Walsh's latest offering was inspired by Mark's daily commute along the N11 and the pull he feels to 'escape the rat race' and take a detour to the beach every time he passes Brittas Bay. 'On my drive to work, I pass the exit for Brittas Bay on the N11, and some days all I want to do is put on my indicator and drive straight to the beach,' Mark explained. 'I began thinking about the film Falling Down and the scene where Michael Douglas' character just abandons his car. That scene resonates with me! I'm sure most commuters know that feeling of wanting to leave the rat race.' Written by Walsh, a radio presenter who began her career as a musician and music booker, and McCorry, a former member of acclaimed Kilkenny band Kaydee, Sunny Day features Dylan Bailey on bass and Áengus 'The Goose' Samuel-Maher on drums. The single is the follow-up to Novatone's debut, Spotlight, which was released in February and heralded by Hot Press Magazine as 'indie pop resplendence'. Having performed as an acoustic duo previously, they expanded into a full band and played their first electric Novatone gig in November 2024 to a packed room in Little Whelan's. In February, they headlined Whelan's Upstairs, and in April, they shared the main stage at Whelan's with Sack, Mundy, and Brian Branigan (A Lazarus Soul) at the Stay Human fundraiser, also playing an intimate acoustic concert at Fennelly's in Callan. You can catch Novatone supporting Tadhg Williams at a free gig in Geoff's Café Bar in Waterford on July 5, in Cleere's of Kilkenny on July 11 and The Star Bar on Baggot Street Lower in Dublin on July 26 for an acoustic launch of Sunny Day.
Western Telegraph
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Western Telegraph
'Brilliant' Britain's Got Talent for Roch sub-postmaster
Former Roch sub postmaster Tim Brentnall is still buzzing from his Britain's Got Talent experience with Hear our Voice, the joyous choir of people whose lives have all been directly affected by the Horizon scandal, that had the BGT judges and audience on its feet. He was initially reluctant to join when fellow sub postmaster Mark said that he wanted to start a singing group. (Image: Tim Brentnall) 'He approached a few of us at a BBC event and suggested that we do something nice together,' said Tim. 'We got on a group of people but only was each other at enquiries or events to do with the negative past. 'At that point I said anything but singing.' However, encouraged by his partner Steph, he went to the first rehearsals and began to enjoy the experience. By this point the choir had enlisted Will and the People who had offered them access to their back catalogue of songs and joined to give the choir support. The choir practised online right up until the day before the Britain's Got Talent audition in Blackpool's Winter Gardens, when they all sang together in the same room for the first time. 'I remember saying. We will either be able to do it in an hour's time or we will be able to do it,' said Tim. 'It was terrifying. When you stand out in practice in a 5,000 seat theatre, I was thinking 'what have I got myself into', said Tim. 'But you are standing there with people who have supported each other through the worst times. "We wanted to stand together and show how strong we are. The desire to get out there was much stronger than the fear.' (Image: Britain's Got Talent/ ITV) All the judges loved their performance and chose them for the semi-finals. The reaction at the semi finals was just as positive with the judges praising the joyful and unifying performance and the public vote sending them through to the finals. 'To get the public vote to win the semi final was so heartening,' said Tim. 'It showed that people still care about our story. It was brilliant. 'We never expected to reach the finals. We were happy to keep our story alive.' The story continues to be kept alive with the release yesterday, Saturday, June 7, of Falling Down, a collaboration between Will and the People and Hear our Voice. The track has been released across all streaming platforms and a physical copy will also be available to buy. All money raised will support Lost Chances, a charity for the children of sub postmasters and the Horizon Shortfall Fund charity. (Image: Britain's Got Talent/ ITV) 'We set up the choir with three objectives; to keep our story in the public eye, to give people in the choir something joyful in a safe, therapeutic environment and to raise some money for the two sub post masters' charities.' So far the single has had a very positive reception with airtime on BBC Radio 2 and Radio Wales. 'For me being in the choir has been brilliant,' said Tim. 'I'm still in a complicated battle with the Post Office which is almost totally consuming of my energy and time. 'This has been a really good distraction. "When I've got a song to learn or a practice it's very mindful. A good way away from the negative things. 'We've got to know each other much better and support each other really well. You've always got these people you can reach out to when you need a pick up. "It's been really good like that.' To stream Falling Down by Will and the People and Hear our Voice, go to linked above.
Daily Mirror
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Post Office choir founder says 'therapuetic' BGT stint was 'life changing'
Mark Wildblood, the founder of Hear Our Voice - the choir made up of people impacted by the Post Office scandal - says the initiative has been 'therapeutic' after a battle with depression. Hear Our Voice, the choir made up of people affected by the Post Office scandal which placed seventh in the recent series of Britain's Got Talent, are releasing a new charity single alongside band Will & The People. The single, Falling Down, is a rendition of the song they performed in their audition for Britain's Got Talent. And choir founder Mark Wildblood says the initiative has been 'life changing' for him, admitting the talent show stint has made a significant impact on his mental health. 'I personally have found it very therapeutic,' said Mark. 'I was on antidepressants prescribed by my doctor for a long long time and I spoke to them very early this year and I said, 'Look [the choir] is really starting to make me feel good and I wouldn't mind trying to go without [the antidepressants]. "So, at the recommendation of doctors I was told it's ok to give it a go and I haven't been back on them since,' he says of the choir's impact. Continuing that it has given him 'purpose' following dark days, Mark shared, 'It's not difficult to get caught up in dwelling on all of the negatives. So, to be surrounded by the same people that you talk to about it every day and that are seeing the positives as well, I think we've done a really really positive thing and a lot of that is thanks to BGT.' While Mark says the choir has meant he's managed to let go of 'anger' he was holding onto against the post office, he confirms that the 'concern' remains. 'My concern for the procedure is not eliminated. We still have to make sure that we get closure and closure can only come with compensation.' Mark was a sub-postmaster at Upton Post Office before he was suspended from the role as one of the thousands of people impacted by the Post Office scandal. The scandal saw the wrongful prosecution of sub-postmasters and postmistresses by the Post Office, who accused them of theft, fraud, and false accounting due to faulty data from the Horizon IT system used by the company. He founded the choir in May 2024, inviting others impacted by the scandal to take part and raise money for the cause, alongside awareness. As the former tour manager for Will and the People, Mark then enlisted lead singer Will Rendle to get involved as he fronted the act on Britain's Got Talent. And detailing how the choir has become a family dynamic, Mark said, 'W e always say to each other that we have become family now. The choir is spread out throughout the country and so BGT has given us the opportunity to actually meet five times in a very short space of time and be together.' Many of the victims are still awaiting compensation from the Post Office, with Mark admitting that despite the success of their campaigning and the recent TV series; Mr Bates vs The Post Office, there's still a long way to go. It comes as Simon Recaldin, a Post Office boss who has been backing compensation for the scandal victims, has left his position in the company. Simon is thought to have opted for voluntary redundancy, a move which comes amid the increased pressure on the company to pay victims. Previously, the government announced that those who have had convictions overturned are eligible for £600,000, with hundreds still waiting for the compensation. 'Scandals like these have a commonality where the bureaucracy of closure takes so long that many people pass away by the time that the situations are resolved - I just hope that we don't get into that situation,' says Mark of those yet to be paid. 'We've already lost a lot of people in the Post Office scandal and we can't afford to lose more without getting a speed up, so I would say to those in power, please change the system. It'll be better for everyone all round and cost a lot less money if they just do it now as it should be,' pleaded Mark. With fellow choir member Maria Lockwood joking that the unit would be keen to front the Glastonbury stage this summer, Mark says he isn't opposed to the idea. "We wouldn't say no to anything where we had the opportunity to get together in person again and Glastonbury would be amazing, that would be phenomenal." Falling Down, the single by Hear Our Voice choir and Will and The People, is available on all platforms from tomorrow, 10 June. 100% of profits after costs from the single are going to the Horizon Scandal Fund and Lost Chances—two organisations supporting victims and their families.
